A Challenge
by Long lost sorrow
Summary: A new student arrives from America, full of expectations and hopes from France. But there's something strange...Does she already know about Lyoko? If so, is she an enemy, or here to help? [Rated T for language]
1. Chapter 1: The Bus

**Disclaimer: I don't own CL. Or 'Because of You' by Kelly Clarkson.**

It's baaaaaaaaaack! I found my backup disc and am now in the process of fixing up and reposting this story.

Unfortunately, I didn't save it all on my disc, so I'm going to need the people who've read the whole thing before to help me remember how it went. Stuff to do, gotta go! Bye!

**The Bus**

**Ella's P.O.V.**

I yawned and stretched. Sunlight poured through the bus window, warming my face. We were only a few miles away from the boarding school. I slowly picked a few of my books up off the floor and shoved them in my bag. I pivoted and stared out the window. The leaves on the trees, gold and orange, shivered on the trees and slowly spiraled down to the ground... I turned away, thinking of what Elko would look like about this time of year. Snow would already be falling and children would be making snowmen…I shook the thoughts from my head.

There was no use dwelling on it. I had to let the anger go. Just like dad said…I dug my fingernails into my palm to let out the anger. There was nothing I could do to change it so I might as well let it go. I felt a sharp pain in my hand and open it up. I had accidentally forgotten to unclench my fingernails and had broken the skin. I wiped my hand on the back of my jeans and turned my music up louder.

'…_Because of you,_

_I never stray too far from the sidewalk,_

_Because of you,_

_I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt,_

_Because of you,_

_I find it hard to trust not only me but everyone around me,_

_Because of you,_

_I am afraid…'_

The words reached deep inside my soul. This was my story. This was how I felt deep inside. I saw the driver turn to shout something and I tugged the earphones off my ears.

"…Kadic Boarding School!" were the only words I heard. I gathered all my things and stumbled down the aisle. I tripped on the last stair and dropped the bag that held my most treasured possession: My laptop.

"Dammit!" I mutter and jump off the stairs to the ground. I kneeled to the ground and picked it up. There was no way I was opening it in the middle of the road; it might get even more screwed up.

Muttering under my breath, I picked up a few of the other things I'd dropped and stumble to the gate. I watch the bus fade into the distance. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and fumble slowly through my bags to find the map of Kadic. It tells me that the office is ahead to my right. I sigh and shove it back into one of my bags. I gather all the bags and begin to walk toward the office.

As I walk by, boys' mouths fall open. The girls are all glaring at me. A girl dressed in black steps in front of me. I eye her carefully. What's she going to do? I half expect her to yell at me and tell me to stay away from her boyfriend, but she smiles at me.

"Can I help you with one of your bags?" she asks. I nod slowly and she reaches for the bag with my laptop in it.

"Not that one!" I yell, startling her and quite a few other people. She stares at me.

"Sorry. That's the bag with my laptop in it. You can take this one," I say apologetically. She nods and takes the bag with the books in it. The two boys sitting on a bench are watching us. The one with the brown hair reminds me of Jessie, one of my best friends. A lump comes to my throat and my eyes sting with unshed tears. I realize I'm staring and look away. I look back and the blonde one's still watching me. I look him up and down. _He_ reminds me of Dustin. I stare at the ground and shove the thoughts back in my mind. The girl grabs my arm and we walk in silence to the office. I catch sight of myself in the mirror. My gray eyes are glowing, as they always do when I'm holding back tears. When we get to the office, she silently hands me my bag and walks away. I dump my bags in a messy pile on some chairs.

"Can I go in now?" I ask the secretary. She's obviously distracted, but what do I care? I'm tired. She waves me in and I open the door to the office.

"…This practical joking has to stop. If I have you in here one more time for playing tricks on a teacher-Ms. Morris, what are you doing in here?" I jump slightly at the sound of my name.

"The secretary told me to come in. Sorry if I'm bothering you." I don't move. He sighs.

"You may go, Mr. Della-Robbia. Don't let it happen again." The boy in the chair stands and leaves. I take his place in front of the principal.

"Welcome to Kadic. I trust that I won't have any problems from you here. I have other matters to attend to, so your roommate is a girl named Emily LeDuc and here's your room key…" he hands me a key and pushes me out the door quickly. My bags are still sitting in the corner. I sigh and pick them up. This is going to be one long trip. Luckily, the girls' dorms aren't far and there isn't anyone in the hallways.

Soon, I'm in my room. I dump all the bags on the bed and pull out my laptop. I grab a spare battery and walk to the trees I noticed when I came in. I'm not cutting class, as I don't actually start school until tomorrow. I sit next to a tree and slip a disk in the drive.

"Aelita, are you there?"


	2. Chapter 2: Aelita's friend

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko.**

_I think this is the next chapter. At least, I'm pretty sure. Actually, I have no clue._

_Just kidding. I was at a loss for what to say, so I babbled. Anyways, here you are…Once again, I might need a little help with chronology… Anything's appreciated!_

**Aelita's Friend **

**Odd's P.O.V.**

"Ahhhhh!" Jim shot about a foot in the air. I laughed to myself. Putting a bug in his drink was so funny! Now he's choking and hopping all over the field. Hysterical! I'm rolling on the ground, making pretty much the whole class stare at me. Jim stops laughing and turns around.

"Odd Della-Robbia! Principal's office this instant!" He screams and points at the door to the office. I'm still cracking up. The secretary gives me a dirty look and points to the door. I struggle to keep a straight face and open the door.

"Mr. Della-Robbia, what are you doing here?" he asks me, surprised. I haven't been to his office for a while. With Lyoko and everything…

"I practical-joked Jim, sir." I say, still trying hard not to laugh. He slowly shakes his head.

"Take a seat, please," I sit, "This practical joking has to stop. You read the Rules and Regulations when you arrived; harming a teacher is strictly prohibited."

"But he wasn't hurt! Just embarrassed." I protest. He sighs, but I can see the corner of his mouth go up. I smile to myself. I think I'm the only one who can get him to laugh.

"Now, Odd, You realize that…." He starts to drawl on and on with his normal speech. 'You've violated the rules, I'll have to alert your parents, why can't you behave, blah, blah, blah…' I tune him out and watch the window behind him. The bus has just pulled up. I see someone jump out and start walking toward us. As she gets closer, I see that she has brown hair and dark skin. She's carrying a whole bunch of bags and, when she walks by, the boys stare. Girls are glaring as she walks by and I see Jeremie, Ulrich and Yumi sitting on a bench in her way. I crane my neck to see what they'll do next. Yumi talks quickly to Ulrich and Jeremie for a minute then nods and steps in her path. They talk for a second and then the girl yells something. The people watching her (which are many) jump. Yumi stops and grabs one of her bags. The girl stands there and stares at Ulrich for a minute. Then she looks away and stares at Jeremie for a minute. Yumi watches her and she starts off quickly straight toward us. Five or six minutes later, he's still going on about etiquette. The door opens behind me. He's still on his little spiel about how irritating I am. I jump when he pauses.

"Ms. Morris, what are you doing in here?" he asks. I turn slightly to see who it is. It's her. She's different up close. Bewitching. She has gray eyes that are sparkling. They look sad but unafraid. Her fingers are clenched in her palms. I see a drop of blood hit the floor. She lets go and wipes her hands on her pants. I see a few other dark spots on her jeans, like she does this often. She has dark skin and a high forehead (A/n: Hah! They all have high foreheads! What a joke!). There are dark circles under her eyes, like she doesn't get much sleep.

"The secretary told me to come in. Sorry if I'm bothering you." She says but doesn't move. I realize I'm staring at her and look away. The principal sighs.

"Mr. Della-Robbia, you may go now. Don't let it happen again!" I hear him say. Who cares about the new girl? I'm free! I hop past her and run outside. Yumi's just leaving.

"Hey, Yumi, wait up!" I yell, making her jump a little.

"Are you in trouble for the trick you pulled on Jim?" she asks when I catch up. I shake my head and we walk to the bench.

"So, Yumi, was she as rude as we thought?" Ulrich asks. Yumi laughs a little.

"Not really. I think she was shyer than anything else. She was almost crying back there when she saw you guys. Didn't you notice?" she murmurs slowly. Jeremie and Ulrich shake their heads. Jeremie goes back to his laptop.

"What are you doing?" I ask, sitting next to him. He slowly turns and looks at me.

"I'm talking to Aelita. She keeps saying something about 'My friend talked to me yesterday, I'm so happy!'. What friend? She talks to us every day and, as far as I know, no one else knows about Lyoko."

"How do we know? Maybe someone else does but doesn't have a scanner or something. And, correction, she talks to _you_ everyday, not us, most of the time…" I answer. He blushes and shakes his head.

"It's just, she never mentioned another friend before. And she tells me almost everything. I think."

"How do you know, Jeremie? I'm entitled to my secrets, aren't I?" Aelita's voice comes from the computer, making me and Jeremie jump.

"But, Aelita, what if she isn't really your friend? What if she's X.A.N.A's friend? How do you know?" Jeremie demands. Aelita answers back quickly.

"Because I've known her longer than you. She's sad…She wouldn't hurt anything. She couldn't, even if she tried."

"Wait, you've known her longer than us? Why haven't you told us about her?"

"Because I knew you'd get mad at her. She's come to visit me some times, when you're all asleep. And I haven't told her about you, either so you may calm down." She answers. I chuckle to myself. Aelita can have a temper when she wants to. Jeremie starts to answer but is cut off by the bell.

"Come on, you guys," I sigh, "Time for Mrs. Hertz. Oh, joy." Ulrich laughs and Jeremie looks grim. No doubt thinking about Aelita again. I don't see why those two just can't get it together and go out already. Just like Yumi and Ulrich. They can be so irritating. I walk into class and drop into the seat next to Ulrich, as always. Halfway through the lesson, I get bored, so I pick up a piece of paper and write a note to Ulrich.

_Hey, are you as bored as I am?_

**Yeah, but I have to keep my grades up. You know how my parents are.**

_Lucky my parents are slackers, huh?_

**Very.**

_**Are you two having a conversation without me?**_

_Hey, Einstein, all you have to do is ask. And I already know what you think about the lesson. You already know it, so it's boring._

**True. He can read you like a book, Jeremie. Well, if he could read, that is.**

_**Hah! There you go, Odd!**_

_How unfair! I can read! Obviously, or I wouldn't be able top reply to this note!_

**Right. I'll believe it when I see it.**

_**Hey! You used a long word like 'obvious'! I'm so proud of you!**_

_Oh, shut up!_

"Odd, could you please tell me the answer?" I jump.

"Uh….13?" I ask hopefully. She gives me a look.

"Our new student's name is thirteen? Very interesting. Thank you for paying attention." I wince. It's scary when her voice gets like that. Luckily for me, the class is almost over. A few minutes after it's done, Jeremie tries to contact Aelita but gets no answer. He starts worrying.

"You guys, Aelita won't answer. There has to be something wrong!"

"What's wrong, Jeremie? I'm right here." Aelita's face pops onto the screen and Jeremie sighs relief.

"I thought you were in trouble."

"No, I was just talking to my friend. Did you know that she's come to-"

"Aelita! Where are you?" someone's voice cuts her off.

"Is that her?" Jeremie asks curiously. Aelita blushes.

"Yes. You interrupted our conversation."

"That's all right, Aelita. You can talk to your boyfriend now; I have to unpack." The voice answers.

"Hey! I'm not her boyfriend!" Jeremie yells, catching the attention of a few people.

"Right. Whatever." The voice vanishes. Aelita blushes darker.

"I'm sorry, Jeremie. She thinks you…what is the word? Love me. She's strange. But she's been having a hard time lately and she's never actually fallen in…love…before." Aelita answers. They're both blushing. I smile to myself.

"Hey, it's the new girl!" Ulrich tells me. I jerk around. She's walking toward the girls' dorms. Guys are flocking around her. She looks really irritated.

"Watch this," I tell Ulrich. I step into the crowd and grab her elbow, pulling her around the corner and through the back doors. She glares at me.

"What are you doing?" she asks, furious. I shrug.

"Helping you. I gotta go, goodbye!" I tell her and walk away. This is going to be fun.


	3. Chapter 3: Memories and email messages

**Disclaimer: I don't own CL...**

_I'm bored. Don't feel like writing anything._

**Memories and e-mail messages**

**Ella's P.O.V.**

I stomped back to my room and hooked my computer up to the wall. What right did he have to pull me out of that crowd? But I do have to admit that he helped by pulling me out of those guys…I might have died from all the lame pick-up lines being thrown at me. Like 'Do you have a map? 'Cus I seemed to have gotten lost in your eyes' or 'Did it hurt when you fell from Heaven?'. Spare me. I jam the headphones to my iPod on my ears and listen to my music. I hit the little 'e' that takes me to the Internet and open my e-mail. I smile to myself as I see a few familiar names in my inbox. I hit the one titled 'Samantha'.

_Hey, Ella! How's it going down there? I hope it's better than when you called me! Guess what? You aren't the only one that had to move because of your parents. Jennah had to move to Texas. Bethany finally left! But she left without calling me and telling me. I didn't appreciate that. _

_Ha! Jessi danced with Jessie Hays on the first dance! You know, the short kid who looks like he should be in fourth grade? Him! And Jasmine danced with Dylan! I almost threw up, I swear! Well, anyway, we have a problem over here in the U.S. (I still can't believe you moved to France! How cool!) Our dear, dear friend, Jessie has decided that hanging out with girls isn't something he wants to do anymore. He drifted since you left, and drifted far. He barely even talks to us anymore! It's terrible. I can't wait until you come to visit and get him back! I swear he left because you did, Ella. _

_Guess what happened when Thomas found out you left? He freaked! He started saying 'I didn't even know she was leaving, why didn't she tell me?' but finally stopped at 'I didn't even know' a few days later. Now he decides to show he likes you when you've moved halfway around the world! Boys are so impossible. Ugh. Danielle told me that if I got a hold of you (i.e. your e-mail address or real address) that I should tell her. Do you want me to? You two pretty much despise each other, so I don't think I will._

_Well, Marc's calling, and I must run. You do know he's pining over you, right? I don't think I told you._

_TTFN,_

_Sammy_

I smiled to myself and went back to my inbox. Sam always cheered me up. Even with her being almost completely alone and having one of the most screwed up lives I've ever seen, she managed to make other people happy. She hit the one titled 'Thomas'.

_Dear Ella,_

_You have no idea how much harder it is here without you. I don't have anyone to talk to anymore. Well, no one that actually gets me, anyway. Or anyone that actually listens to me. I miss you. I guess almost everyone does. There's no one here like you. And my whole world is falling apart now. Mom came back from Mexico. Well, Miguel's mom. I doubt I'm ever going to find my mom. Anyway, they got in a fight again. Mom and Dad. She got bruised and cut and someone called the police. I did what you told me to this time and ran to Brianna's house with Miguel. He didn't get to us this time. I don't think he's ever going to get out of the prison here, and if so, I'll leave. I'm saving up my money to come visit you some time. No matter how bad it is, it can't be worse than here._

I went back, sniffing slightly. Thomas was one of my best friends and I felt so sorry for him. I remember the day we met….

**Flashback-Fourth Grade**

"_Class, this is our new student. Thomas, you may sit next to Eleanor. Eleanor, raise your hand now," the teacher announced. Ella's hand went up slowly, her face burning. She hated it when people called her Eleanor._

"_Hi," she whispered to the boy. He turned and watched her._

"_Why are you sad?" she asked softly. He stared at her again._

"_I hurt." He muttered, turning away from her. She watched him carefully and saw the bruises covering his arms…_

**End Flashback**

I sighed to myself. There were way too many things to fix right now, and I couldn't face it. I unhooked the gold belt on my waist and shook it out. Wires and metal connected, beeping softly. I held it up in the air and it dropped to the floor. Finally, I'd perfected my portable scanner right before we left for France.

"Aelita? I'm connecting to Lyoko now. I'll be there in a minute."


	4. Chapter 4: Lyoko

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko. Still. And I don't own Rent. Nothing from Rent is in this chapter…I just felt like saying that.

Yeah, I'm weird.

_Hello again, my lovely readers. It's me, your dear. Weird, mentally disturbed friend._

_I don't know why I wrote that._

_I lied. I do know why I wrote that…Three coffees and three pieces of birthday cake for breakfast. Mom wasn't home. ._

**Lyoko**

Ella dropped to the ground, her headache disappearing instantly just like it always used to.

"Rose! I haven't seen you forever, how have you been doing?" asked Aelita, callingher by her favorite nickname.Ellagrinned at her.

"I'm alive, aren't I?"she asked happily.Aelita smiledand huggedher tightly.Ella coughed a little.Aelita let go, a grin still on her face.

"So how are you and your boyfriend? Err…. Actually, you never told me his name."

"Oh, he's not my boyfriend. His name is Jeremie Belpois. He found me last year…After your computer crashed. Oh, I forgot! I haven't told you about the others!" Ella stared at her.

"What 'others'?" she asked, watching Aelita carefully.

"When Jeremie found me, so did three others. Their names are Ulrich, Yumi and Odd. They go to-" she began. A noise came from behind them. Ella whipped around only to find nothing there. The ground shook beneath them.

"No! Aelita, get back! X.A.N.A's activated a tower!" Ella yelled, whipping out her gun.

**Meanwhile, on Earth**

Jeremie's computer beeped quietly under his desk. He leaned back in his chair slowly, only to see a red tower glowing on his screen. He raised his hand quietly.

"Mrs. Hertz, may I go to the Infirmary? I don't feel well." He said quietly. Mrs. Hertz nodded. Jeremie's friends stood up quickly.

"Can we take him?" they asked in unison. Mrs. Hertz nodded again.

"…Now, when you take this number…" were the last words they heard before the door shut behind them.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked as they started to run.

"X.A.N.A's attacked. I don't know about Aelita; I haven't heard from her yet. I hope she isn't harmed." They heard a growl in front of them and stopped short. A wolf sat in front of them, swishing his tail back and forth silently. Odd slowly took a step to one side.

"Well, Einstein, it appears we've found out what our old friend X.A.N.A. has cooked up for us this time." He muttered. Jeremie nodded at him.

"If we move slowly, I don't think it'll do anything," whispered Ulrich. Jeremie nodded again.

"Hey, Einstein, you gonna say anything?" Odd whispered.

"Odd, could you please be quiet? I'm trying to think of a plan." muttered Jeremie. Odd shut his mouth. Ulrich smiled a little to himself. This was probably the first time Odd actually shut up in his life.

"I've got it! Ulrich, you distract it for a few minutes while Odd and I run for it. When we're gone, run after us and go through the manhole. We'll hold it open for you. Got it?" he asked. The boys nodded.

"In three…two….GO!" he yelled. Odd and Jeremie took off, leaving Ulrich with the wolf.

"Um…Ha!" He yelled, throwing a rock at it. The wolf growled loudly and advanced on him menacingly. He took a slow step back. The wolf lunged at him. He took off running, not stopping until he got to the manhole. He slid into the opening, managing to pull it shut just before the wolf got there. He sat for a few seconds and caught his breath.

"Are you okay?" Odd asked at the bottom of the stairs.

"Fine. Let's get going!" he muttered a few seconds later, jumping of the step and grabbing his skateboard as he did so.

About three minutes later, Jeremie heard a clicking noise behind him near the elevator.

"Good, you guys are here. Aelita needs you in the Desert region. Hurry!" he told them. Odd and Ulrich jumped back in the elevator, speeding down to the scanner room.

**Ella's P.O.V.**

Aelita and I hid behind a boulder to come up with a plan, just like old times.

"All right, Jeremie should already know about the activated tower. All you need to do is distract the monsters and the schiphizoa until backup comes. Okay?" she asks. I stare at her.

"What in the world isa schiphizoa?" I ask. She stares at me blankly.

"Oh, wait, I haven't told you yet…The schiphizoa is a huge, squid-like monster that wants to steal my memory." I nod. It makes sense. Then I step out from behind the rock into the harsh, glaring virtual sunlight.

**Odd's P.O.V.**

"Hey, Einstein, where's the Princess?" I ask as I drop to the ground.

"She's to your right by a rock, you should see it right now," he answers. I nod and start to run toward the rock. I see the rock right in front of me and run faster.

"Hey, Princess, I'm coming for you!" I yell, knowing she'll jump out as soon as I say it. I hear a click behind me and a girl's voice.

"Don't move."


	5. Chapter 5: What?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko. **

_Here's the next chapter. Thanks for the reviews!_

**What…?**

"_Don't move," the man muttered behind her, halfway down the alleyway. She turned slowly to face him._

"_I said, don't move!" he yelled, pointing the gun at her. She shivered slightly in fear._

"_Hey, Dude, she's just a girl, leave her alone," someone murmured behind her. She wanted to turn around and look, but she was too afraid he'd shoot._

"_Look, Man, I don't want any trouble. Just step aside." The gunman answered, staring behind her. She glanced at to the side and got a glimpse of brown hair before the man yelled_

"_I told you not to move!" she shuddered and stood there helplessly, too scared and shocked to try anything. She felt someone's hand on her arm._

"_Don't worry, Morris, I'll save you," someone whispered in her ear. She smiled a little, happy to see an old friend._

"_Don't try anything stupid," she whispered back._

"_What are you whispering about? Tell me!" the guy yelled. The two started. _

"_Look, dude, just stay calm," Her friend answered quietly, "Take it easy." The guy muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'Kids these days…'_

"_Hey, I don't want to hurt anyone. Just hand over your valuables. Cash, jewelry, whatever. Now!" he barked. Ella jumped again as the man leaned toward her slowly. She rustled around in her pocket for a second and pulled out about five dollars in change._

"_That's all I have, please don't shoot," she whispered quietly, hoping he'd leave._

"_Now the necklace," he muttered to her, "Give it to me!" she leaned back a little._

"_On three…two…one. Run!" her friend yelled, pouncing on the man. She stood there, knowing she should run, but not wanting to leave him there. There was a short tussle, ending with the man on his stomach with his face in the dirt and her friend sitting on his back. Her friend picked up a rock and smacked the man in the back of the head with it._

"_Is he dead?" she whispered, her face rigid with shock. Her friend stood up slowly._

"_Nope, just knocked out," he answered. She shook her head slowly, a grin appearing on her face._

"_You're crazy, Thomas." He smiled._

"_Oh, you have no idea, Morris," he laughed…_

"Don't move!" she threatened, holding her gun to the back of his head. He tried to turn but she pressed the gun harder.

"I have no problem with shooting you, cat-boy," she warned.

"Look, who _are _you?" he asked.

"It's none of your business, now why are you here?" she asked, not noticing the blur moving behind her. She felt something sharp being pressed into her back.

"Don't move," A boys voice muttered, "Let my friend go and no one gets hurt."

"What are you _doing_!" she heard Aelita's voice behind her and frowned. How did Aelita know these people?

"Aelita, what are you doing?" he asked. Aelita stepped next to them, pulling Ella's gun and Ulrich's sword down.

"Please, don't fight. Rose, you really should know better." She admonished. Ella glared at her and flipped the gun back into the holster on her leg.

"What do I care about someone I don't even know?" she asked angrily, still glaring at the two boys.

"Hey, you guys, be careful, I've detected a strange anomaly in the region, too!" Jeremie warned.

"It's a little late, Einstein. We've already had close encounters of the Lyoko kind," Odd answered.

"Oh, joy, its little Aelita's boyfriend," Ella muttered.

"What was that?" asked Aelita.

"Nothing! Shouldn't we be doing something about that activated tower?" She threw back.

"Yeah," Ulrich muttered, still wary of this new and strange intruder, "We should."

* * *

_Short, I know. I don't know why…I really don't remember when I wrote this…_


	6. Chapter 6: Trust

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko. All I own is Ella. And her friends from Elko. **

_Well, here y'all go. I can't remember if I've said that before, so don't judge!_

**Trust**

"_I can't believe she's crying because some ball barely hit her! What a loser!" the preppy girl from her class yelled, laughing at her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek, making her even colder than she already was. The pain sliced through her cheek again and she ran. She felt her foot hit a rock and tripped. _

_Her cheek was starting to ache now, and her hands began to bleed. There was a new scratch on her cheek and it hurt possibly worse than the new bruise did. She struggled up, but it only made her hands hurt worse. Tears struggled down her face, mixing with the wet snow already there. _

"_Need help?" she heard a voice above her. She stared through the snow falling thickly around them and saw Thomas._

"_Look, right now is not a good time," she sobbed. He shook his head._

"_Look, I may be shorter than you, but that doesn't make me stupid. There's something wrong, and you're hurt. It's my business, so don't try and send me away. Come on; let's get you to the Nurse now." He grabbed her arm and dragged her to the Nurse's office, her protesting all the way. He dropped her on the couch (she'd been so irritating that he'd had to pick her up and carry her halfway there) and sat next to her. She was shivering, and her hair was plastered to her face. When he glanced at her, he noticed her lips were blue._

"_Oh, crap…NURSE!" he yelled at the doorway. The nurse stomped in._

"_What is going on? Have you no patience, young-Oh, goodness." She stopped at the sight of Ella shivering on the couch. _

"_Here, take this towel and dry her off…Now!" she barked. Thomas jumped and took the towel from her hand. She didn't look any dryer when he was done, but she looked a little better. The nurse walked by and handed her a warm-looking blanket, muttering something about 'children who don't have enough sense to bring a coat to school in the middle of winter'. Thomas grinned at her._

"_I saved you again, Morris. That's two you owe me," he laughed. She glared at him._

"_What makes you think I'm grateful?"_

She tripped over a rock, even as she saw the activated Tower. Aelita paused to help her.

"Go! They can help you. I can take care of my-" she began, only to be cut off as she was hit with five lasers from the blocks behind her. She faded away, leaving only a white outline, which quickly faded as well. Aelita stared where she'd been helplessly.

"Aelita! Hurry up, will you?" she heard Odd say. She snapped back to reality and ran toward the Tower. Ulrich blocked the laser heading for Aelita and fell. Yumi ran next to him and pulled her fans out.

"HiiiiiYAH!" she yelled, aiming for the two blocks. It hit them dead-on and they exploded.

"Thanks, Yumi," Ulrich muttered. Yumi kneeled next to him. Aelita took one last good look at them before stepping into the Tower.

Ella was curled in a ball on the floor, shuddering. The trip back was always bad. But, this time, it was ten times worse. Her head felt as though someone had hit repeatedly with a sledgehammer. She could barely breathe. Her throat was tight and she could see the room turning dark…

Aelita let the usual calm settle over her. The blue and black lights cast an eerie glow about her as she began to float upward…

Ella felt herself let out what she knew was going to be her very last breath. She wished that she could stop this waking nightmare, wake up in her old house to her old friends, go back to boring school. But she knew it would never happen. Not for her, the bad-luck charm.

She landed on the top level. The little circles lit up as she stepped onto them. The screen popped up in the middle of the landing.

Aelita

Code?

Ella wished herself back to the day she realized she was different. She wished that it had never happened. Then, knowing she couldn't change anything, she wished she could tell him the truth.

_I miss you and I regret never telling you…I loved you, Thomas…And you broke my heart…_

LYOKO

Jeremie hit in the time coordinates.

"Return to the past now!" he yelled. A beautiful white light enveloped them all, saving a scared, sad girl in her room…

She slipped on the tree, almost falling. She sighed and sat on the nearest branch. She was still alive, in spite of the lingering pain in her head. She felt something in her pocket and pulled it out. Of course. It was her iPod. She smiled a little to herself and turned it on. She didn't feel in the mood for ultra-depressed anymore, so she changed the song to 'Me vs. The World'

"_Hey, boys, hey girls, hey anybody who will listen to me,_

_Case you haven't noticed, it's just me against the world today,_

_I fell right off the wrong side of the bed and landed in the worst mood,_

_There's that stupid alarm clock screaming at me from across the room,_

_I'm trying to be nice; I'm trying to be reasonable,_

_But it's oh, so hard when I don't wanna be,_

_If you're looking for that nice girl from the day before,_

_Don't bother; she don't live here anymore,_

'_Cus it's me against the world,_

_Oh, what a stupid day,_

_Yeah, it's me against the world,_

_Just stay out of my way,_

_And in case you haven't noticed and in case you haven't heard,_

_It's just me against the world,_

_And the world is winning._

_You should have let me stay in bed; I've got this pounding in my head,_

_No, nothing's okay, would you stay out of my face today?_

_I'm slamming doors, I'm slamming phones down, look out for this temper tantrum,_

_Stay out of my way, 'cus if you don't you will be scared away,_

_I'm trying to be nice; I'm trying to be reasonable,_

_But it's oh, so hard when I don't wanna be,_

_And you're looking for that nice girl from the day before,_

_Don't bother, she don't live here anymore._

'_Cus it's me against the world,_

_Oh, what a stupid day,_

_It's me against the world,_

_Just stay out of my way,_

_And, in case you haven't noticed, and in case you haven't heard,_

_It's me against the world,_

_And the world is winning._

_I'm gonna be impossible,_

_I've gotta tell you, I'm seeing red,_

_I'm gonna be impossible,_

_I've gotta tell you, I'm seeing red,_

_I'm gonna be impossible,_

_I've gotta tell you, I'm seeing red,_

_I'm gonna make you believe what I said,_

_I'm gonna make you,_

'_Cus it's me against the world, oh, what a stupid day,_

_Yeah, it's me against the world,_

_Just stay out of my way,_

_And in case you haven't noticed, and in case you haven't heard,_

_It's me against the world,_

_And the world is winning."_

Ella smiled to herself. There was nothing like a fast song to make you feel awake again. Humming to herself, she started walking back to school, not noticing that the bell had just rung.

"Well, if it isn't the irritating little Yankee," a snotty, high-pitched voice said behind her. She gritted her teeth. There went her good mood.

"If you have something to say, you wanna-be Princess, you'd better say it now," she said slowly and carefully, as though talking to a one-year-old. Sissy glared at her back.

"Fine, I will. You think you're some amazing girl just because you come from the States, don't you? Well, if you think you can take my Ulrich from me-" she started. Ella gave her a withering look.

"Not only do I think I'm no better than anyone else here, I don't even know who _your_ Ulrich _is_, but I have a question for you. Do you always chase boys who don't like you?" she asked. A crowd had begun to gather around them.

"He likes me! I _know _he does!" Sissy yelled. Ella grinned at her.

"Right. Well, I think I'm done with you following your idiotic delusions for now. Oh, I'm sorry. I mean, I'm tired of listening to you tell me lies. Sorry if I said it in a way you didn't understand." She spun around and started to walk out of the circle when she heard someone snicker behind her. She turned slowly, expecting to see Sissy. But no. There was a boy with brown hair standing there. She stepped up right in front of him with a glare.

"You think it's funny when other people get hurt in front of the school?" she asked him, raising an eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips. Ulrich winced slightly.

"No, I just-"

"You think it's funny to see other people get hurt?"

"No, I-"

"You're such a….Such a….Boy!" she yelled in his face. Ulrich blinked twice.

"Uh…Sorry?" he muttered. She glared at him.

"You have no idea what the word even means. If I'm right, you do what you feel like, you race through life without a flipping care. You get whatever girl you want, and everyone accepts you. You have no idea what it's like when you don't have any friends, no one to turn to. You don't know what it's like to be afraid you've forgotten how to feel. You've never felt so numb you can barely tell what's real and what's imaginary. I know who you are. You're just like _him_. Stay away from me!" She yelled. Ulrich's eyes were wide open. He was speechless. No words came when he opened his mouth. She took a step back.

"Just as I thought," she muttered to herself. Not a sound was heard from the surrounding group. She turned on her heel and headed for the girls' dorms so they couldn't follow her to her room.

So they couldn't see her cry.


	7. Chapter 7: Misery loves me

Okay, here you go. Too lazy to write anything else.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko.**

**Misery Loves Me**

_Ella sat up in her bed, the heaters already warming the freezing house. She rolled over, hoping her Dad wouldn't notice she was awake and she could sleep for longer…_

_But no luck. A few seconds later, her Dad walked in her bedroom door._

"_Come on, wake up, you'll be late for school!" he told her. She groaned and rolled over, falling asleep again. About five minutes later, her dad walked back in again._

"_Eleanor Rose Morris, get your butt out of bed this instant!" he shouted. She winced and rolled out of bed. She rubbed her head._

"_Ouch. What in the world did I just land on?" she muttered to herself. She pulled her blankets up off the ground and uncovered an old statue. She wrinkled her nose._

"_Ugh. That _hurt_!" she whispered to herself. She tossed the offending statue back on her desk among other figurines and miscellaneous junk from around her room. She stepped around her room carefully, trying not to break any of the junk piled around her room. When she finally reached her door, she breathed a sigh of relief and shuffled downstairs where it was even colder than the rest of the house. She shivered and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She slipped out of her tight sleeping shirt and boys' boxers and shrugged her normal clothes on before she got too cold. Then she rushed upstairs, grabbing her backpack on the way to the door as well as her black sweater._

"_Hey, you planning on eating breakfast, Speedy?" her dad asked her. She shook her head._

"_No, I'm not hungry. See you later!" she told him, hopping down the steps and running toward school._

_When lunch swung around, her stomach felt like it was on fire, but she had gotten used to that .When it came her turn to get lunch, the lunch lady asked her what she wanted. She shrugged._

"_I had a big breakfast, I'm not really hungry," she told the lady. The lunch lady nodded and Ella went on her way._

_Luckily for Ella, her house was warm when she finally got there. Her mom was cooking something that smelled good on the stove. Her dad grabbed her sweater from her._

"_Hungry?" he asked. She shook her head._

"_I had this huge lunch at school, but thanks!" she told him cheerily. His face fell slightly but he nodded and let her go do her homework. She smiled to herself and went to hide in her room._

_The next day at school, she realized she'd been fooling everyone with this trick for four days now. She felt kind of queasy as she went to third period, but thought nothing of it. As she reached the top of the stairs going down, her vision started blocking away, like an outdated computer when its screensaver is starting up. Her legs locked into place and her eyes rolled back into her head and she fell, down, down into the darkness……

* * *

_

_She opened her eyes slowly and saw only bright white. She blinked, the lights hurting her eyes. Beside her, she heard a rustling noise._

"_You're awake!" someone yelled. She jumped slightly. Someone wrapped their arms around her and she closed her eyes. She heard voices._

"_You know, she needs to sleep, young man," someone said._

"_She needs me! I'm _always_ here for her! She'll get scared if I'm not." The other voice said. She opened her eyes again and found herself lying on a hospital bed with (you guessed it!) Thomas sitting next to her. She tried to smile but winced as the pain went flowing through her. Her head was pounding and there was a sharp, stinging pain in her arm._

"_Wha...what happened?" she asked and was surprised at how weak her voice sounded. He leaned a little closer (a/n: oh, boy, here comes a gushy moment…That's what you're thinking! But no! Oh, no…)_

"_You fainted on the steps…What the _Hell _were you thinking? Not eating for four f-ing days? You have a death wish, I swear!" he yelled. Ella's eyes got big and she inched away from him, ignoring the pain in her head and arm. Thomas started._

"_I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, Ella. You know I didn't. My temper got away from me…" he muttered. Ella grinned._

"_Actually, it helped a lot. You know, I never actually thought you were fully human because…Well, you_ never_ lose you temper! It's scary some times, you know?" she asked. Thomas smiled at her and nodded._

"_Well, as for the death wish question…I guess I do this stuff 'cus I know you'll always be there to help me. Don't deny it, you know you always are," she told him as Thomas opened his mouth. She smiled slightly, "But I really have to thank you for being here for me all the time…I don't think I'd ever be able to get on without you." Suddenly, and strangely, out of nowhere, her heart started beating wildly in her chest as he leaned closer._

"_Is that really true?" he asked her, his eyes soft. She felt her mouth go dry and she nodded. He leaned a little closer, only inches from her face. She closed her eyes. Suddenly, she felt a rush of wind and a whispered sorry as he left the room. She opened her eyes. There was no one there. She closed her eyes again softly and a single tear slid down her face._

"_What the Hell is wrong with me…" she whispered to herself, in an empty room, in her empty life…

* * *

_

The door opened and she heard a voice.

"Hello?" it asked she sat up quickly and wiped her face off.

"Come…come in," she told whoever it was. It was the girl who'd helped her with her bags that morning. She tried to smile but failed miserably. So she switched tactics.

"What do you want?" she asked. Yumi sat next to her.

"Aelita said you needed a friend," she told Ella. Ella's mouth dropped open.

"You…know…" she began, struck by the idea. Yumi grinned.

"Aelita. Yeah, I do. So do…um…a few other people at this school." She improvised. Ella nodded again.

"All right. I'm fine, I don't need a friend, and Aelita needs to mind her own business. Fair enough?"

"She told me you needed a friend. And now I'm set on comforting you."

"Let's not and say you did."

"Nope, I'm here until you fess up." Ella made a face. Obviously, this girl wasn't leaving. Finally, she sighed and gave in.

"Well, let's start with names. I'm Eleanor Rose Morris. You?"

"Yumi Ishiyama. What happened?" she pried. Ella winced. She'd been trying to avoid this.

"I'll tell you when you tell me what this school is like. Especially the dorms. Are they cold in the winter?" she pestered. Yumi smiled a little. This girl was just as stubborn as she was.

"Actually, I'm not the one to ask. I don't really board here, I'm just a day student. I do have some friends who might know, though…" she trailed off hopefully. Ella smiled a little bit.

"Maybe…I could meet them?" she asked, still trying to avoid the first problem. It worked. Yumi smiled and stood.

"All right, well, I'm sure you'll just _love _Odd; he's the joker of the group. Ulrich's kind of moody, but," she sighed a little, "He's one of the cutest boys I've ever met. But," she added sharply, looking at Ella, "don't you _dare_ tell him I told you that." Ella smiled.

"Don't worry, I don't do stuff like that." She replied, slipping down the main steps. Yumi smiled a little. This new girl sure acted quite a bit like Ulrich, maybe he'd be a good friend for her.

_And, _she reminded herself, _only friends. I mean, what would keep people who are almost exactly alike from being friends?_

They reached the rest of the group, Odd and Jeremie facing them and Ulrich with his back to them.

"Hey, guys, this is my new friend, Eleanor," she told them. Jeremie looked over Ulrich's shoulder at them as well as Odd. Ella managed a slight smile.

"Actually, it's Ella," she told them. Odd smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you." He told her. She smiled back at him, still not really caring what he thought of her. They were now right there with the group. Ulrich turned to see who it was. His face tightened and his hands curled into fists.

"You," he spat. She glared right back at him.

"You."


	8. Chapter 8: Already Broken

_Let the real rewriting please stand up! Okay, I've officially began rewriting this. 'Cus I was bored and, although I have millions of angry readers clamoring to murder me in my sleep because of my updating habits, I decided to fix this stuff 'cus it still kinda sucks. And no one EVER REVIEWS!_

_Seriously, people. Out of all the people who read it, like, eight people have reviewed. For the whole story._

_When I first wrote this thing, there were way more! Come on, people!_

_Okay, in other news, I'm going to go into the old second book differently. There's going to be one in between this one and that one, which is going to take place during the summer. That said, here you go…_

**Already broken**

_Ella stared blankly at the wintry scene outside her hospital window. The episode with Thomas had been three hours ago, but she hadn't moved since then. She heard a noise outside her door._

"_I figured you'd like your laptop…" her dad trailed off unsurely. She nodded. He brought the portable table the hospital food rested on over and set her laptop on it. He watched her for a few minutes but finally left, going back home to her pregnant mother and her sister. She eyed the computer for a few seconds before slowly opening it and hitting her program research._

_Three weeks ago, she'd uncovered a secret project made in France for some virtual universe…It had long since been shut down, but strangely garbled messages had been coming from it for weeks now. She hit the two final keys that would activate her communication with the strange world and waited. _

_Finally, a screen popped up. It held a girl with bright pink hair. She was staring at the screen without blinking._

"_Who are you?" she asked. Ella's mouth fell open and she couldn't say a word.

* * *

_

_Ella twirled the lock on her locker aimlessly, not really paying attention to it. She had better things to think of, like how to finish the circuitry on her grandma's belt or what she was going to design herself as. _

_Suddenly, she felt a hand on her arm. She turned her head slightly and saw Thomas. She glared at the locker and put in the combination._

"_Don't touch me." She growled, shaking him off. _

"_Ella…" he muttered, putting his hand back. She jerked away from him._

"_Don't. Touch. Me." She muttered through gritted teeth. He grabbed her shoulder._

"_Ella, don't be like this. You don't-"_

_SMACK! The sound echoed through the hallway, making everyone turn and stare at the angry girl._

"_I told you: Don't touch me," she told him, spinning around and grabbing her books from the locker before slamming it. She stomped down the hallway toward her next class._

"_Dang! I didn't ever think you'd slap Thomas! You two are…like…tight! Ya know?" her friend Sam asked, walking around and standing next to her. Her back straightened slightly._

"_So, like, what did you do in the hospital for two weeks?" she asked, still trying to start up a conversation. Ella sighed._

"_Oh, nothing, it was actually pretty boring," she told her, her mind already having moved on to something else. Sam tried a few more times but got nothing. Finally, she just shut up and watched her best friend fall apart._

"What are _you_ doing here?" Ulrich growled. Ella's face started getting red.

"Is it any of your business? Besides, Yumi just said she met me and I was her friend. What, now are you deaf as well as a snobbish, stuck-up prep?" she asked, her fists tightening. The glared at each other for a second before Ulrich turned on his heel and stomped away. Ella stood and glared after him. The rest stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment when Yumi rushed off after Ulrich.

"Uh…So…I'm Odd," Odd said. Ella turned and stared at him.

"Um…That was kind of…random." She said. Odd slapped his forehead.

"That's my name," he told her. Her eyes widened in embarrassment.

"Oh…I'm sorry." She told him. He grinned.

"I'm Jeremie," Jeremie said, thrusting out his hand to her. She eyed it carefully and shook it.

"Your last name…It wouldn't be Belpois, would it?" she asked him. His mouth dropped open.

"H…how did you know?" he asked. She was looking him up and down.

_So…This is Aelita's boyfriend…_

"Hmmm…I must say…She really doesn't have that good a taste in boys…" she muttered to herself, walking around Jeremie in a wide circle, so she could survey him on all sides (if you know what I mean). Jeremie stared at her.

"Who doesn't have good taste in boys? What are you doing?" he asked, squinting at her. She jumped.

"Why, Aelita, of course. Who else would like you?" she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry, sometimes, my mouth gets away from me. I didn't really mean it. Forgive me?" she asked. Jeremie and Odd were staring at her, mouths wide open and eyes so wide, they reminded her of a deer staring into headlights.

"Y…You k…know ab..out Aelita…" he was almost telling himself it. Ella rolled her eyes.

"Nope, I've no idea who the girl is. Of _course _I know Aelita! What are you, an idiot? But no…She told me you were a genius. Hello? Anyone home?" she asked, waving her hand in front of his face. He blinked.

"Then…You were the girl in Lyoko yesterday…I mean…Whatever! You almost shot Odd!" he hissed. Ella blinked and turned to stare at Odd. Looking him up and down, she nodded to herself a little.

"I did, didn't I? I'm sorry about that. You never really know with Xana, do you? Well, I hope we'll be friends now!" she exclaimed.

_Why am I so hyper? I was just in a fight with someone…Shouldn't I be angry?_

"Eh…Sure…" Odd said, obviously stumped as far as what to say. The lunch bell rang.

"Oh! What does that mean?" she asked them. They were still in shock.

"Um…I think…Hey! Did the lunch bell just ring? Food!" Odd exclaimed, running off. Ella brightened.

"Did he say food? I love food! Hey, wait up!" she ran off after him. Jeremie watched them leave. Finally, he pulled out his laptop.

"Aelita? Who is this girl? She's-and I didn't think I'd ever be saying this-stranger than Odd!"

* * *

Ella calmly sat next to Odd after getting her food. She took a huge bite of food and promptly spit it out on her tray.

"Ugh! That's nasty, how in the world do you eat this?" she asked in disgust. Odd didn't pay any attention; he was too busy eating his plate. Ella rolled her eyes and muttered something under breath. Then, to Odd's surprise, she stood up, dumped her tray and went into the kitchen.

His eyes widened as he waited for the lunch lady's (well, actually she's the breakfast, lunch and dinner lady, but work with me, here) top to blow. She hated, absolutely hated having anyone barge into her kitchen at any time of the day, let alone during a meal.

Nothing happened.

Ella walked calmly out of the kitchen a few seconds later and grabbed her jacket from the table. Odd stared at her. She smiled companionably.

"Just forgot my jacket. I'd best start my new job, now, see you later!" she told him, taking her jacket and heading for the kitchen door again. Odd's mouth fell open. Luckily for us, he'd swallowed all his food, or that'd be a very nasty scene right there. Ulrich and Yumi walked in, him standing and staring at her face, and she talking in a low voice to him. Odd grinned to himself and shook his head.

They were so hopeless.

* * *

Ella grabbed a spatula from off the table and took a pan from the side dishwasher. She began slicing vegetables after washing them in the sink. The lady (whose name was really Rosa) had stood and explained to the students her brand new assistant was making another serving of stew. They complained, of course, but it only took a dirty look and a few words from Ella and they shut their mouths and sat down. She grinned to herself and finished adding things to the pot. She sighed and rested her back against the edge of the counter, her feet aching from her standing on them for so long. She wiped the back of her hand against her forehead, noticing the strand of hair fall into her face as she did so. Rosa came over and patted her back.

"You know, honey, you have flour on your face," she told Ella. Ella flew up.

"Do I really? Can I wash it off in the sink? Do you have a washrag?" she asked in rapid succession. Rosa laughed.

"Yes, yes and no. By the way, your stew is boiling," she told Ella. Ella got an overwhelmed look on her face and rushed over to the pot. She pulled it off the burner and set it on the side. Finally, she had finished. She grabbed a rag off the side board and wiped her face off quickly. Rosa took the pot from her and dumped it in the bowl plate thingy the lunch peoples always use.

Luckily for them, they had just enough to feed the naturally hungry students. Also Odd, who was abnormal. Or just plain odd. Either way, pretty much the same thing. Ulrich claimed the stew was poisoned and refused to eat even a bite. Yumi just ignored him and ate it. Luckily for Ella, the new food was much better than what the kids were used to, so she was allowed to stay as an assistant. Jeremie showed up about five minutes to the end of Lunch period. He wasn't paying attention to much, really. Just talking to himself.

"So...If…I add….." he mumbled to himself. Ulrich watched him and shook his head. Sometimes, Jeremie confused him more than Odd.

_No, _he thought to himself calmly, _No one confuses me as much as Odd does. _

His next class was History. He was good at History, luckily for him. He wasn't able to pay attention in Science at all that day:

He was far too angry at Ella.

* * *

Ella had found a plug connected to the old gardening shed in the woods. To most people, that wouldn't matter much, but to Ella, it was like finding a diamond in a pile of rocks. She plugged her stereo in the plug, flipping the song to the one she was choreographing.

"_I've been on a roller coaster since you said that we were over,_

'_Cus you didn't wanna be tied down,_

_I felt like a loser, wasted and used,_

_So scared to move without you around,_

_I felt like I was gonna die,_

_Turns out I survived._

_Hey, didn't need you anyway,_

_I get better every day,_

_Don't you think it's funny how it all works out?_

_I've finally got a life,_

_I go out every night,_

_Now I've got so much to say, so much to do,_

_This is life, life after you._

_I've been on a rollercoaster since you said we were over,_

_I'm finally back to being me,_

_I don't have to say I'm sorry,_

_I'm the last one at the party; I don't think I've ever felt so free…_

_I guess I should be thanking you for this brand new attitude._

_Hey, didn't need you anyway,_

_I get better every day,_

_Don't you think it's funny how it all works out?_

_I've finally got a life,_

_I go out every night,_

_Now I've got so much to say, so much to do,_

_This is life, life after you._

_Hey, didn't need you anyway,_

_Getting better every day,_

_Don't you think it's funny how it all works out?_

_Yeah, I've finally got a life,_

_I go out every night,_

_Now I've got so much to say, so much to do,_

_This is life, life after you,_

_Life after you." _She back flipped and did the splits, finishing the last part of her routine as the last chords of the song rang out. She smiled slightly and started the song back up again.

* * *

Ulrich was standing outside with the rest of the group, talking about basically nothing. Yumi walked up.

"Hey, does anyone hear music?" she asked them. They stopped talking and listened carefully. Sure enough, music was playing from behind the gardening shed.

Other students had already started noticing it, as there was a flock of them heading in that direction. Ulrich looked at Yumi. She shrugged. They took off for the shed and struggled through the crowd.

The crowd was clapping for someone doing a dance routine, but she was moving so fast they couldn't tell who it was. Finally, she stopped. Ulrich's face turned red and he clenched his fists. Yumi's mouth dropped open. Ella stood and took a bow, blushing at the audience. Her CD turned off. The crowd finally cleared away, leaving her and the other four Lyoko fighters.

"Sweet!" Odd yelled, running up and clapping her on the back. She blushed again and started to gather up her things. Ulrich watched her. Yumi finally got fed up with him.

"Look, you have to admit she was good!" she told him. He glared at Ella. He wasn't about to admit he thought she was good, too, just because she hadn't insulted him for an hour or so.

Odd started chatting with her and Ulrich watched them smile and laugh. Yumi rolled her eyes, finally giving up on him, and left to join Odd and Ella. Jeremie stood next to Ulrich.

"Ulrich, I'm sure she'll apologize if you get to know her," he told Ulrich. Ulrich turned to glare at him and stalked off.

_Tell me how I'm supposed to forgive her when she's taking over my life? _He thought, feeling dejected…


	9. Chapter 9: First Kiss

**Disclaimer: I don't own CL.**

_Hello. Second chapter of the update. Got nothing to say._

**First Kiss

* * *

**

_It had been a full year since Eleanor Rose Morris had spoken to Thomas, and she had finally and officially gotten her life together. She had friends and she hadn't gotten into one of her little 'incidents' for a while. In fact, at the moment, she was at a party. Unfortunately, she was having the worst time of her life._

"_Hey, Sammy! Isn't it a little loud in here?" she shouted over the speakers turned full blast. Her friend shook her head._

"_Nope, it's just right!" she yelled back. Ella shook her head._

"_You've got to be kidding me," she muttered to herself. She really hated these parties, the 'my-parents-left-town-to-go-on-a-cruise-so-let's-party-and-trash-the-house' ones. In fact, she normally didn't know any of the people here; she just came to get her mind off…_

_But she couldn't think about it. It'd just hurt her again. Finally, she grew tired of sitting around, doing nothing and trying to avoid the many boys who tried to out their hands you-know-where. She grabbed her black sweater off the rack in the front room and ran out of the house through the back way. The shortest way for her to get home was (and this was predictable) a now dark alleyway-in fact, the one where Thomas had once saved her from being mugged. She walked in the middle, having the strange feeling of being watched. Suddenly, someone grabbed her and pressed her hard against the wall. Other boys emerged from the shadows, where she hadn't noticed them standing. They grouped around her._

"_Now, isn't this fun, boys? We've got a poor, defenseless little girl. What should we do about it?" there was a collective laugh from the other boys, who, she now noticed, were all about her age. The boy holding her kissed her roughly on the neck. Suddenly, a voice spoke out from the group._

"_Hey, dude, can I have this one?" he asked. She whimpered slightly, scared out of her wits. The guy holding her shrugged and threw her towards the one who talked._

"_Sure, dude. You're the one who never tries, so here's your first," he said. The boy who'd grabbed her, pulled her down the alley to the end, right next to her house. Then he let her go._

"_Here I am again, still saving you from the dark. Isn't it ironic?" he said. She leaned closer to him and peered at his face._

"_Thomas? Is that you?" she asked, still scared. She heard her voice shake slightly and cursed it for showing her weakness. He smiled. Her legs shook and she almost buckled to the ground. He caught her easily and she noticed how strong he'd become. She used his arms as support so she could stand back up. Her weakness wasn't helping her much, and she kept falling forward into his arms. Finally, she just gave up on her internal struggle and let herself lean on him._

"_Are you all right?" he asked her softly. She felt a sob rise in her throat but held it back._

"_I…I was so scared…For the first time in my life." She told him just as softly. He stared at her, bringing his face a little closer to hers._

"_You don't have to be scared anymore," he whispered and kissed her softly. She pulled away from him after a few seconds and took a few steps back, managing to find enough strength to get to the fence. She shook her head slowly._

"_No. No…This isn't real. I'm imagining things again…This is too hard. Go away."_

"_Ella, what are you doing?" Thomas asked, the hurt obvious in his voice._

"_No. It has to go away…Just like all the other times. It's just a dream…Wake up. Wake up now! Please!" she yelled, talking to herself. Thomas stared at her._

"_Ella, this is real. I'm real! Believe me, please!" he cried. She shook her head. _

"_No. This has happened so many times…It's. Not. Real!" she whispered. Thomas walked right up to her and kissed her again. She stiffened and pushed him away._

"_Why isn't it going away?" she whispered to herself. Thomas watched her sadly._

"_I am real. You don't understand, do you? I think I've been in love with you since I met you." He told her. She slapped herself and realized she wasn't dreaming._

"_It's real…" she whispered to herself. Thomas leaned forward and kissed her one more time. She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her back. After a few seconds, they separated again._

"_That…Was my first real kiss…" she whispered. Thomas smiled at her._

"_I never-" someone yelled something from behind them. They turned and saw her father. She winced._

"_You scared me half to death! Samantha called and told me you left the party! Where were you?" he asked her. She turned. Thomas had disappeared. She climbed the fence._

"_Oh, I just took a walk." She told him quietly, stepping past him and into the house, where she walked up the stairs and into her room dreamily. As she pulled her shirt over her head, she noticed something white on her nightstand. She walked over to it and realized it was just a note. She unfolded it quickly._

_**Dear Ella,**_

_**I guess that was the best night I've ever had and I just wanted to ask you…**_

_**Would you go out with me? It'd be the best thing that ever happened to me if you did…Answer me tomorrow at school. I'll wait for you at the front doors.**_

_**Love,**_

_**Thomas**_

_She smiled and set the letter back down on the table. She had her answer ready._

Ella slowly opened her eyes to the loud, shrill beeping of Emilie's alarm clock. It drove her nuts, but there wasn't anything she could do about it.

She heard a bang on her door and groaned. It was probably just another poor, innocent student here to beg her to shut the stupid thing off. She groaned and answered the door.

"Look, I can't get her to give away the clock, so you'll have t-" she began before seeing Odd.

"Oh, it's just you. What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, irritated. His eyes were wide and he was (obviously) staring at her with an almost scared look on his face. His cheeks went bright red and he turned away.

"Well…um…Look at yourself, would you?" he said. She looked down at herself and realized she didn't have a shirt or pants on. She gasped.

"Oh, shit…Well, what are you doing in front of my room at six in the morning, anyway?" she demanded. He was staring above her head like she wasn't there. She closed the door slightly and hid her body behind it.

"Um…X.A.N.A. attack…" he mumbled, "you weren't answering your cell, so I volunteered to come and get you…" she sighed. It was a Saturday and she would've liked to sleep in. After all, it was still her first week and it had been far too hectic for her taste. She wasn't getting much sleep, not that she normally did, but still. She closed the door a little more.

"I'll go by myself on mine; you get to…wherever you go to get there, all right?" Odd nods and runs away. Ella grabbed her belt and turned her laptop on; checking to make sure Emilie is still asleep. She virtualized herself and landed in the forest region in Lyoko. Yumi glanced at her from the side.

"Good, Odd got you," she said calmly, hitting a hornet with one of her fans.

"Took you long enough," Ulrich muttered from next to Yumi. Ella eyed him.

"Good morning to you, too, Sunshine," she told him. He glared at her angrily. She rolled her eyes. Deep inside, she wanted to apologize, but she wasn't the kind of girl to give in first. Regret was something she felt often because of this.

This time, the fight was pretty easy. Only five crabs and fifteen hornets. Pretty light, considering some of the fights they'd had recently. In fact, since no one was hurt or scared or in shock in the real world, they were probably about to take a trip to Sector Five.

"I'm _tired_ I don't _want_ to go to sector five! It _hurts_ me!" Odd protested. Ulrich glared viciously at a nearby tree, but Yumi didn't seem bothered by the detour at all.

"Oh, come on, it can't be that bad," she said calmly, adjusting her outfit slightly, "In fact, it'll give us some practice. Won't that be fun?" she sounded like one of those grown-ups that liked to con kids into doing something they didn't want to do. Ella crossed her arms. The last thing she wanted to do was spend time in a tiny area, let alone time in a tiny area with Ulrich. Jeremie was convinced, however.

"Come on! We need this mission! We might get some valuable info on Aelita or how to shut X.A.N.A down for good! Please?" he pleaded. Most of the small group sighed.

"All right…" Ulrich muttered. They reached the edge of the trees and the Carthage bubble thingy floated down to them. It sucked them up and sent them off. The trip was fairly easy, even though, since Ella had never been to Carthage before, two of the group nearly got sick. The walls opened in front of them and they started to run toward where the switch was supposed to be. Suddenly, Jeremie yelled from above them.

"Hey! Stop, there's a room to your left that wasn't there before!" he shouted. They skidded to a stop.

"Thanks for the warning, Jeremie…" Ulrich muttered and started toward the doorway-type thing. Ella, not about to be shown up by him, ran ahead and entered the room. She saw there was an alter type thing ahead of her at the front of the room. She took a few steps forward and heard the others enter behind her. She pulled her gun out and cocked it, feeling someone watching her and sure that something wasn't right.

"I was wrong…Nothing new here. You guys can leave, now," Jeremie told them calmly. Ella stared around her and saw the roses strewn around her, on the pews and on the floor. There was something so familiar about it…

Suddenly, a yellow light threw them of balance, enveloping them all. Ella opened her eyes and found herself staring into someone's beautiful brown eyes. She started. Something was wrong with her seeing…It was all misty, like there was something between her and him.

There was a strange weight on her head, like a crown or something and her stomach felt like it was attached to her backbone by her dress. It was a shining, pearly white. She surveyed the boy in front of her. He looked almost exactly like Ulrich and he, too, was looking around wildly. And then she realized…

The mistiness between her and the boy was a veil. The weight on her head _was_ a crown…The dress pressing her chest down was a wedding dress. The man standing in front of them was the priest, her and this strange boy she was holding hands and exchanging vows with each other. She felt her heart beat wildly in her chest and realized just how old-fashioned the chapel looked like. There were what looked like a million people staring at them from the pews.

"…Until death do you part?" the pastor asked. She started, knowing the question was aimed at her. The crowd paused, waiting for her answer. She jumped, opening her eyes and finding herself in exactly the same spot as before: in the room with her friends, no strange people, and no strange places. Her same clothes. She patted herself down to make sure of that. Ulrich was staring at the alter. Ella stared at him, knowing full well what almost happened to her. All of a sudden, all she wanted to do was get away from the room as soon as possible.

"Can we leave? Please? I can't stay here…Anymore…" she began, feeling her chest heave in what felt like a panic attack. It became hard for her to breathe. She dropped on all fours and struggled for breath. Aelita dropped next to her as she heard a shot fired. She heard Jeremie exclaim.

"Odd! Everyone, get out of there! It's a trap!" he yelled. Someone tried to pick her up but couldn't. Things were happening around her that she couldn't see. Her vision began to block away. Someone started yelling.

"Ulrich! You have to get her, Yumi's too busy and I can't lift her!" she distantly heard Aelita yell. Arms picked her up and she struggled to regain her vision.

"Super sprint!" Ulrich yelled and took off quickly, leaving the others behind. He dropped her in an empty room and ran in the opposite direction to help the others.

Meanwhile, back at the room, Yumi had taken down three creepers and Aelita was hiding behind a chair. Ulrich sped back in and hit the last two.

"We need to hurry, I left Ella in an empty room. What happens if something gets her?" he asked. Yumi nodded and Jeremie virtualized their vehicles.

* * *

When they got back to where Ulrich had left Ella, there was something strange.

Ella was no longer dressed in her normal tiny shirt and tight pants. She had on a long, white dress and a veil. Her head was covered by a small tiara and her hair was coiled into a beautiful braid that went in circles around her head. She wasn't moving. In fact, it looked like someone had put a doll in her place; she just looked too fake.

"Jeremie, what is this?" Ulrich asked, staring at her. Jeremie took a few seconds to answer.

"I have no idea. It's like she changed costumes or something…How am I supposed to know?" He sounded extremely frustrated.

"Look, I'm going to de-virtualize you all. I'm way too confused," he said, entering the correct data.

"De-virtualization, Yumi, de-virtualization, Ulrich, de-virtualization, Aelita, de-virtualization, Ella," he muttered to the computer, hearing Odd walk in behind him.

"Hey, Einstein, where are the others?" Odd asked. Jeremie turned.

"They're on their way."

"Oh, good, 'cus I think I had a premonition that Ulrich and Ella are gonna get married."


	10. Chapter 10: Behind Broken Hearts

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko. Or iPods. **

_Hello. I wasn't planning on updating for a while, cus I should really pace myself with the remaining chapters I have saved because as soon as I run out, I'll go insane writing more for this story 'cus it's my favorite one to write for, even if not that many people actually read it. Oops got off track. Anyways, I wasn't planning on updating but I'm bored and someone reviewed, so...Here we are!_

**Behind Broken Hearts**

_Ella kissed Thomas in front of her classroom, proving to the rest of the world just how in love with each other they were. Sam rolled her eyes and shook her head at them._

"_Would you two hurry it up? I kinda have to get to class before the bell rings!" she told them. They broke apart, blushing. Sam sighed. They had been like this for two months now, and she wasn't too happy about it. Oh, she wanted her friend to be happy, but all Ella talked about now was Thomas, Thomas, Thomas. It was driving her up a wall. Ella, on the other hand, was blissfully happy. She thought she was going to end up with Thomas, and that made her amazingly…ditzy. She almost literally giggled all the time. _

_It was extremely unnerving. She sat there through Science twirling her hair around in her fingers. Sam sighed and made herself a mental note not to talk to Ella anymore. She just wasn't the same person. The bell rang again and the students rushed out of the classroom for their recess. Ella grabbed her books and headed for Thomas's locker. _

_As she turned the corner, she stopped suddenly in her tracks and her books hit the floor with a bang. Her eyes filled with tears as she saw Thomas pressed against the wall with a tall, skinny blonde girl. She started for him when, suddenly, time stopped. _

_No, seriously. Time stopped. Ella's mouth dropped open in surprise as she walked past classrooms with immobile teachers and laughing students. She sprinted to her locker and reached for her laptop. She plugged it into the nearest plug and opened up the Lyoko program._

"_Aelita? X.A.N.A's attacked!" she said. Aelita looked worried._

"_I know. I can feel the pulsations, but it's like the tower doesn't exist…It's not there!" Aelita answered. Ella stiffened. She hadn't perfected her scanner yet, but she'd definitely have to get to Lyoko to help Aelita. She sighed and ran to her locker to get the belt. 'The belt' was an old birthday present from her great-grandmother: a gold rose vine with red roses chasing each other around in a circle. It was a lovely thing that Ella had spent the last six months disguising and wiring (with Aelita's help) to build a portable scanner. _

_Unfortunately for Ella, she hadn't had a chance to test it yet, or she would have been more confident. She typed in all the correct coordinates and shook it out to make it big enough for her to step into. She took a deep breath as the thin doors closed around her, remembering her claustrophobia. She closed her eyes and clenched her hands into fists, fear crushing her breath. A white light sucked her in and she felt herself land hard on the ground. She rolled over on her stomach and groaned. Aelita rushed over._

"_Are you all right?" she asked her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up. Ella flipped her hair over her back._

"_I'm fine…But these shoes are hard to stand in!" she complained. She had huge stiletto heels on. Suddenly, they changed into knee-high boots. She lost her balance slightly._

"_Woah!" she yelled, nearly falling backward. Aelita caught her hand._

"_Are you all right?" she asked again. Ella nodded and tested the shoes slightly. They seemed strong enough, so she grabbed Aelita's arm._

"_Come on. Where are the pulsations?" she asked. Aelita pointed to the front of them and they took off. Sure enough, there were red strands running through the wires and huge shaking coming from the ground. Ella found a pocket in her outfit and pulled out what looked like a video screen. She pressed the big red button on the end and it started beeping. A big red cylinder showed up on it and pointed to the right of where they were standing. Aelita stared at the screen._

"_Where'd you get that!" she asked. Ella shrugged._

"_It was right here in my pocket," she said, pointing to her pocket. Aelita nodded and took off in the direction indicated on the screen. Ella was standing outside, waiting for her when a bag dropped from the sky right in front of her. She jumped back from it and pulled a gun out. She aimed it carefully at the bag, ready to shoot. _

_When a few seconds went by with nothing happening, she set her gun down and picked the bag up. It was what looked like thick canvas-like material and it was dark green. She opened it carefully and dropped it in surprise._

"_What in the world…" she whispered quietly, retrieving the bag and pulling out a small silk bag. It was soft and thin and there was an opening near the top. She pulled it apart slowly and pulled out a fine silver tiara with the initials 'EM' inscribed n it. She put it back and pulled out a little wooden box. She noticed the worn rose carving on it and opened it as well. There sat a small, delicate ring. It had a ruby in the center and two diamonds on the side. She stared at it, having a strange feeling that she'd seen it before. She shook her head to get herself back on track and knelt to see the rest of the bag._

_When she was finished, she had two hair ribbons (one black and one red), the tiara, the ring, one copper anklet, one silver anklet and one gold anklet. She sat and stared at them all. The must have some sort of importance to her, but she just couldn't seem to place them. A shadow fell over her and she looked up to find Aelita watching her. She quickly stuffed the things back in the bag. As they watched, it disappeared into the ground._

"_What…Just happened?" Aelita asked slowly. Ella stared right back at her, remembering what had happened at school. It all fell in on her and she collapsed on the cool forest ground, sobbing._

Ella stood in her room, pulling on a pair of tight blue jeans. She stepped out and shrugged her black jacket over her blue shirt. She swung around the doorway and sprinted down the stairs. By now, the sun was shining outside and there were groups of students walking around. She pulled her jacket sleeves over her hands and sat on the bench, waiting for the others to show up. She remembered something and pulled her iPod out of her jacket pocket. She flipped the 'on' switch and turned the sound down so she could hear when they were near her. She pulled out a notebook from the backpack she'd dragged out with her and started to draw on it. Not really noticing what she was doing, a boy's body started to show up. She finally snapped out of whatever she was thinking about and looked at it. Her mouth dropped open and a small gasp escaped her lips.

There, in front of her, was a perfect drawing of the boy who'd been in her 'vision'-the one she was about to marry. The one that looked like Ulrich. She glared at it, ripped it off the pad, crumbled it into a ball and tossed it over her shoulder She remembered home and concentrated on her own mental image for a second. She opened her eyes and started to draw very quickly. The angel statue, the steep hill, the old, rusty swings, the tennis court…

The finished picture was far better than the one she'd had before. It made her remember all the times when she'd been a little girl and playing in Angel Park. She sighed and sat back. She hadn't really realized just how much she'd missed home. She realized someone was watching her and looked up. There was a boy with black hair watching her from a few feet away. She stared at him. He smiled a little and walked over to her casually. He grinned at her and held out his hand for her to shake. She took it and forced a weak smile.

"My name's William," he told her, sitting down.

"Ella. Nice to meet you," she replied sweetly. He looked at her paper.

"Did you really draw that?" he asked, amazed. She followed his eyes and smiled at it fondly, like an old friend.

"Yes, I did." she told him calmly. He lifted his head and looked directly into her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked. She turned her head away from him and her tone of voice went cold.

"It's really none of your business," she told him. She heard someone behind her.

"Yeah, William, go away. She wants you to leave." Ella turned to see Ulrich and was amazed. Why was he protecting her? He hated her. William glared at him and stormed off. Yumi sat next to her at the end of the bench and Aelita sat on the other side.

"What happened?" Aelita asked. Ella shrugged.

"I was drawing and he walked over. Nothing, really,"

"He's such a jerk. He needs to leave us all alone." Snarled Ulrich angrily. Ella stared at him.

"I have a question. Why did you defend me? I thought you didn't like me." Ulrich turned on her and eyed her for a second.

"I don't like William more than I don't like you. I was just getting him to go away." She felt herself settle again. He didn't really like her, he just didn't like William.

"So…About the vision Odd had in Lyoko…" he began.

"What vision?" Ella interrupted. Jeremie sighed.

"We didn't tell you, did we? Odd had a vision that you and Ulrich got married in Lyoko." Ella stared at him and started laughing.

"Oh, you're so amusing, Jeremie, very funny…" she laughed. They stared at her blankly.

"It's true. I saw it." Odd said with an air of importance. Ella watched them for a few seconds and sighed.

"If you saw what I saw, then…I don't think it was Ulrich." She told them finally. Odd gaped at her.

"You can see, too!" he exclaimed. She rolled her eyes.

"Not that I know of. I think it was the room…" she shuddered slightly and pushed herself further back on the bench, "It was horrible. I couldn't control what I was doing at all…Like I was possessed or something, like on one of those really lame horror movies. You know?" she asked. Odd nodded and Aelita turned to Jeremie.

"Jeremie, what's a 'horror movie'?" she asked carefully. Jeremie looked at her.

"A horror movie is a film that tries to scare you, Aelita."

"Oh. That sounds fun!" she said sweetly. Ulrich shook his head slightly to himself.

"Well, if we've concluded that I'm not getting married to _her _then can I leave now? I want to go practice soccer." Jeremie nodded and Ulrich started to walk away. Ella jumped up and ran after him.

"Ulrich! Hold on, I need to talk to you!" she yelled. Ulrich stopped but didn't turn around.

"What?" he asked her when she'd stopped. She caught her breath.

"I just wanted to say…" she began and didn't keep going. He raised his eyebrows after a few seconds.

"What? I don't have all day."

"Well…I just wanted to say…I'm sorry for yelling at you and calling you names. I was wondering if…We could be friends?" she asked. Ulrich blinked.

"All right…Friends. Shall we start all over?" he asked, sticking his hand out. Ella smiled and shook it.

"Let's." Ulrich smiled at her.

"Hey, wanna go play some soccer with me?" Ella grinned.

"Sure. Let's go!" Ulrich grinned back at her.

"Wanna race me?" he asked, turning toward the field. Ella turned as well.

"On your mark…get set…GO!" she yelled. Ulrich took off and she watched him for just a few seconds before running after him.

* * *

_The girl kneeled in a chapel, her long brown hair nearly reaching to the floor. The sunlight shone through the stained-glass window above her, lighting up her lovely face as she prayed. The door behind her opened._

"_Your father is here, Miss," the woman told her, stepping into the room._

"_Thank you, Lina, tell him I'll be with him in a moment," she told the woman. Lina curtsied and left the room. The girl finished her prayer, gathered her skirts around her and left the room. The stairs stretched before her, but she got to the bottom floor in record time. She smoothed her skirts and took a deep breath before stepping into a room with two doors. There was a fire running in the grate, even though it was a warm summer day._

"_Well, darling, it took you long enough, didn't it?" a man in a red leather chair asked her. She managed a polite smile and sat in the chair across from him._

"_Why did you call me into your office, Father?" she asked, folding her hands neatly in her lap. Her father leaned back in his chair calmly._

"_A good friend of mine has a son."_

"_Oh?"_

"_Yes. And this…friend's son is, as of this month, unmarried."_

"_That's interesting."_

"_Yes. It is. My dear daughter, this son of my friend is quite taken with you. He has asked for your hand in marriage."_

"_What! Father, I don't even know him! How can I marry someone I don't even know, don't even care for!" she asked, jumping to her feet. Quite a feat, considering she was wearing heels and a full, ankle-length skirt._

"_My dear Elaine, no one in the world cares what you think. Now, this boy wishes to marry you. His family is quite wealthy and, as you may have noticed, our business hasn't been going well as of late. You can, and will, marry the young man." Elaine sat gingerly and tried to hold back her angry tears, as a good young lady should._

"_Father, please. Don't make me do this! Please…" she whispered. Her father looked at her coldly._

"_I have already accepted his offer. You will not run away, my dear, and so you wish to know why?" he asked, his face and grip on his brandy glass tightening. Elaine sobbed slightly, knowing there were numerous ways her horrible father could blackmail her into marrying this stranger she'd never met._

"_No, but I trust you will soon tell me, Father." She growled her tone icy and unforgiving. Her father didn't notice, but his face was transformed with a wide, menacing smile._

"_You remember your dear, dear old friend, Jonathan?" he asked. Elaine felt as though she were about to be sick. Her friend, Jonathan, had disappeared a few weeks ago without a trace, "Well, I seem to have locked him in the attic tower. Now, if you decide to, oh, I don't know, run away to your mother, I will turn him over to the police for kidnapping my poor, lovely daughter. Now, we don't want that to happen, do we?" her fingers clenched the silky fabric of her dress tightly, wrinkling the delicate threads. She gritted her teeth._

"_No, we don't." she muttered, looking anywhere but at his face. He reached over and roughly took her chin, turning her face towards his._

"_Do we understand each other?" she nodded slightly and his smile got wider, "Good. Now, go and get yourself cleaned up. The boy and his father are coming for dinner to evaluate whether or not he wants you. Go!" he told her, pointing to the door. She made her steps calm and cool, but when she'd closed the door, she ran up the stairs and fell to her bed, sobbing uncontrollably._

Someone was shaking her.

"Ella, Ella, wake up! Wake up!" someone yelled. She moaned slightly and struggled to open her eyes. A group of people were standing around her in a circle, all obviously scared. She coughed a little, her throat aching. A boy lifted her into his lap. She blinked.

"Are you all right? Talk to me, Ella!" the boy said, watching her carefully. She saw him by a flashlight someone was shining on her. It was Ulrich. She opened her mouth and tried to talk, but it hurt too much. She coughed again, wishing she could tell him abut the girl and her father, the one in her dream.

There was something so familiar about her…She almost felt like she'd known the girl her whole life. She blinked again, her eyelids feeling like they'd been weighted down with anchors. Her eyelids fluttered before closing, her body recognizing just how much she needed sleep.


	11. Chapter 11: It's Not Impossible

**Disclaimer: I don't own Papa Roach, Lost, Simple plan, Code: Lyoko or anything else you've heard of before.**

_Heya, as soon as I get the chapter after next written, I'll put numer 12 up, 'kay?_

**It's not impossible**

_Ella sat on her bed with her legs leaned on each other, her scrapbook in her hands and her personal telephone sitting next to her. She grabbed the remote to her stereo system and switched on her Simple Plan CD. _

" **Can you leave me here, alone, now?**

**I don't wanna hear you say that you know me, **

**That I should be always doing what you say,**

'**Cus I'm trying to get through today,**

**And there's one thing I know:**

**I don't wanna think about you…" **_Ella dropped the scrapbook, shoved her phone onto her nightstand, turned the player on full blast (her parents had gone to work), jumped up on her bed and started playing the air guitar._

"**Or think about me,**

**Don't wanna figure this out,**

**Don't wanna think about you,**

**Or think about nothing,**

**Don't wanna talk this one out,**

**I won't let you bring me down,**

'**Cus I know,**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Don't wanna think about you."**_ Ella started head banging and singing along with the CD at the top of her lungs._

"**When I wake up here tomorrow, things will never be the same,**

'**Cus I won't wait,**

'**Cus you won't change,**

**And you'll always be this way,**

**Now, I'm gonna get you today,**

**And there's one thing I know:**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Or think about me,**

**Don't wanna figure this out,**

**Don't wanna think about you,**

**Or think about nothing,**

**Don't wanna talk this one out,**

**This time, I won't let you bring me down,**

**Won't let you shut me out,**

'**Cus I know,**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Don't wanna think about you,**

**Run away, run away,**

**I'm running as fast as I can,**

**Run away, run away,**

**I'll never come back again,**

**Run away, run away.**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Or think about me,**

**Don't wanna figure this out,**

**Don't wanna think about you,**

**Think about me,**

**Don't wanna talk this one out.**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Or think about me,**

**Don't wanna figure this out,**

**Don't wanna think about you,**

**Or think about nothing,**

**Don't wanna talk this one out,**

**This time, I won't let you bring me down,**

**Won't let you shut me out,**

'**Cus this time I know:**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Run away, run away,**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Run away, run away,**

**I don't wanna think about you,**

**Run away, run away." **_Ella fell down, laughing her head off, and turned the stereo back down. She smiled to herself, knowing just how appropriate the song was for her. She was still laughing to herself slightly as she picked up the phone and called Sam. It had been a month now since Ella had finally gotten Thomas off of her back and Sam and her were best friends again. A slight banging noise was coming from the window, so she sighed and walked over to it. Thomas was standing there, throwing rocks at the window. Ella sighed, rolled her eyes and drew the curtain. Nothing else happened, so she grabbed the phone and dialed Sam's number._

"_Hey! Could I talk to Sam, Marc? 'Kay, thanks…" she waited for a few seconds until her friend picked up._

"_Hello?"_

"_Hey, Sam! I was wondering if you wanted to go biking around Angel Park with me?"_

"_Sounds like fun. I'll ride my bike over there in a few minutes…Hold on a sec, I need to ask Mom…" Sam came back in a few seconds._

"_What'd she say?"_

"_She said I could!"_

"_Sweet! See you there in a few?"  
"Yup! Bye!" Ella hung up and smiled to herself. She grabbed her personal CD player and a light jacket (it had been sprinkling rain for a few minutes now) and headed for the door. She grabbed her keys off of the kitchen counter and her bike helmet and locked the back door._

"_Why do I get the feeling I'm forgetting something…" she muttered to herself, not noticing Thomas staring at her from the front door. She finally gave up and shrugged._

"_Whatever. I'm good." She shoved her CD player in her pocket and locked the door from the back as she opened the front door. She closed it behind her and turned to find herself face-to-face with, you guessed it, Thomas. He stared her in the eye._

"_Why did you break up with me?" he asked her, his tone sad and lonely sounding. She sighed and turned to open the door, forgetting she'd locked it._

"_Crap," she tugged her keys from her pocket and turned to unlock the door but was spun around by Thomas._

"_I. Want. An. Answer. Now." He said, his eyes narrowing. Ella whimpered slightly and backed as far into the door as possible. Thomas followed her as far back as he could go and put his hands on the door on either side of her. She slipped her phone out of her pocket and slid it behind her back. She pressed the 'three' on the dial down to call Sam on speed dial. Then, she kneed Thomas in the groin and ran around the side of the house so she could hide in the bushes. She dived behind them right before he ran around the side of the house and heard Sam on the other end of the phone._

"_Hello? Sammy? Thomas is here at my house…I'm so scared…Help me!"_

"_El, calm down! What happened? Where are you?"_

"_I'm at my house and…I went out the front door and he was just there! This is horrible…He wants to know why I broke up with him…should I call the police? Sammy? Hello?"_

"_Really, the worst timing for your phone to go out, isn't it?"_

"_JESSIE!"_

"_Shhhhh! He'll hear you!" Ella tackled her friend to the ground and hugged him._

"_Oh, Jessie, you're a life saver! How did you know where I was?"_

"_I was kinda about to come over to talk to you…I saw the whole thing."_

"_Oh, Lord, I have no idea how we're gonna get out…" she whispered, leaning around the corner to see where Thomas was. Jessie pulled her back behind the bush._

"_Are you crazy? First chance we get, you're hopping on my bike and we're riding away as fast as we can. Good with you?" Ella smiled at him happily._

"_Hell yes it is! When can we go?"_

"_He keeps running in circles around your house…I think we can get away after he goes by us this next time…" they waited a few seconds until Thomas stormed past them again, "Now!" they took off and mounted his bike. Ella on his back peg thing (A/n: I don't know what it's called, so you'll have to deal, now, won't you?) They sped past the neighbor's house and down the street to Angel Park, which was just a few blocks away. Jessie brought the bike to a screeching halt and they dropped off the bike and onto the slightly wet grass. She rolled down the hill to the very bottom and started laughing hysterically. Jessie rolled down after her._

"_Are you all right?" he asked her, raising his head and leaning it on a hand. She just kept on laughing like she wasn't ever going to stop._

"_Nope, you're just gonna…" she laughed hard, interrupting herself, "send me…to…an institute…for the clinically insane…Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…" Jessie shook his head at her._

"_Hey, you might wanna stop laughing cus Mr. Stalker is here to pick up his ex-girlfriend…" Ella stopped laughing instantly grabbed Jessie's arm and ran for the girls' bathroom door. She slid into a stall and climbed on the toilet seat quickly, Jessie doing the same thing in the stall next to her. The door slammed after them and the only noises were of their heavy breathing. Suddenly, the door slammed into the wall. Ella held her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping he wouldn't look through each one for her. He didn't, and after a few minutes, he left. She heaved a sigh of relief and stepped down. Jessie walked into her stall and dragged her out._

"_El, you've got to tell someone about this. Otherwise, you won't be able to go outside without your parents. Ever."_

**Ulrich's P.O.V.**

I have to admit it: Ella's going to beat me.

I know, I know, pretty pathetic, isn't it? But it's true. She's even better than Odd. I'm really glad we're friends now, she's too hard to fight with. And she's awesome to talk to…Unlike some of my friends, she listens to all the same bands I do and knows how to hit a ball just the right way to get it past someone.

"So…What are _your_ parents like?" she interrupts my thoughts with. I jump and block the ball she kicks at my goal.

"You don't wanna know."

"No, really. Since we pretty much just met, I have no idea what you or your family's like. So spill." She blocks the kick I aim at her and sends it back towards me.

"Hmmm…My mom's pretty quiet most of the time. She's really calm and likes to stand up for me. My dad…Well, let's just say he can't stand failure." I kick it past her and make a goal.

"That's three to one; I'm still kicking your butt."

"So…How about you?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you parents like?" I ask as she sends the ball into the goal yet again.

"Four-two." She says, avoiding the question. I smile a little and kick it past her, as she seems distracted.

"Nope, that's not good enough. I told you, now you have to tell me." She glares at me.

"That's not fair."

"Au contraire, my friend. It's perfectly fair. As you say, spill." She sighs and wipes her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Well…My mom loves to lead or coach things. The best thing for her is to have seven things going at once. She has a bit of a temper, but she means well…Most of the time." I wait for a few minutes for her to finish.

"And…?"

"And what?"

"What about your dad?"

"Oh. Him. Do I _have_ to tell you?" she aims for the goal but I block and kick it past her again.

"Yup. I did, didn't I?" I ask, watching the ball roll past her into the goal, "Now we're tied." She sighs and leans against the edge of the goal.

"Look…As you can tell, I really don't want you to know about my dad. Could I just tell you something else? Anything else?" she begs. I shake my head.

"Nope. Hey, think of it this way, you started it. Come on, it can't be _that_ bad." She shakes her head.

"All right, as you're obviously as stubborn as I am, I'll tell you. My dad…Likes to put a lot of pressure on me. I suppose he just wants me to do well when I grow up, but…Sometimes, it's just so hard to live with him. He's the reason I'm so stubborn. Oh…and he's a third degree black belt. That enough or do you also want to know his favorite color or something?" she aims directly past me and shoots into the goal. I groan and wipe my forehead with a sleeve.

"Nope, that's good. My turn to ask a question, that all right?" I ask. She nods and sits on the grass.

"Can we take a break? I need to catch my breath." I grin and walk over to sit next to her.

"Yeah. So do I. All right…So…You favorite color, movie, song, band, city and if you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go?" She blinks at me and spreads her legs out.

"Hmmm…My favorite color is maroon, my favorite song is 'Scars' by Papa Roach, my band is Fall Out Boy, my movie is…Actually, I'm more into TV on DVD, so that'd be the first season of 'Lost', my city is New York and I'd go to India. Now you." I think for a second.

"Well…My favorite color is, as you may have guessed, green, my favorite movie is 'Terminator', my favorite song is 'I'm Just a Kid' by Simple Plan, my band is the Subsonics, my city is London and I'd go to the States." She sits for a second.

"Why do you want to go to the States?"

"I've always heard how amazing it is and I want to see it for myself."

"Wow. That's really cool. Hey, you know, I'm probably going back home for break, maybe we can save enough money for me to take y'all with me back there." I eye her carefully to see if she's joking. She's not.

"Dang…That'd be amazing. Thanks." She stands up.

"No problem. Now, let's get back to the game."

* * *

I was so tired at the end of the day, all I could do was drop into my soft, welcoming bed. Unfortunately, Odd was still hyped on sugar. He didn't really feel like going to sleep. Luckily for me, it didn't last for long and he soon exhausted himself. He dropped to his bed and watched me.

"So…Ella's pretty hot, huh?" he said finally. That woke me up.

"_WHAT!" _I yelled. Odd jumped.

"Dude, don't hit the roof. Dang. I was just saying-"

"Odd, you're not allowed to say _anything_! She's not only new, but one of our friends! And you know how you go through girls; you'd just hurt her and make everything uncomfortable for the rest of us! No! Don't even think about it!"

"Well, it's not like you won't do the same thing with Yumi." I stopped and shut my mouth. Then I just rolled over and tuned him out. He'd gone too far this time and he'd better know it. My tiredness rolled right back over me and I fell right into sleep…

**

* * *

**

Someone shakes me awake, annoying the heck out of me. I swat at their hand.

"Go away," I mumble. They smack my cheek. I pull out my earplugs.

"What?" I ask angrily. Odd glares at me.

"Someone's screaming down in the girls' dorms." I jump up and stare at him.

"Well? Let's go!" I tell him and open the door. We run down the hallway and the stairs and get into the forbidden territory. I spot Jeremie somewhere along the way, but keep going. I stop in front of the room it seems to be coming from and open the door. I flip the light on and see Emilie kneeling over another girl who's screaming her head off. I lean over them and realize who it is. Someone hits the lights and I hear a voice from down the hall. I wince and shove Emilie out of the way. She glares at me but I really don't care.

"Who is it?" Odd whispers in my ear. I stare at him for a second.

"It's Ella." I say and turn back to her.

"Wake up! Hello! Wake up, Ella!" I yell in her ear. She stops screaming and slumps down. I pull her head into my lap as Jim walks in with a flashlight.

"Hey, what are you kids doing in here?" he asks us, sounding half-awake. He shines his flashlight directly in my face so I look back down at my unconscious friend.

"Ella, Ella! Wake up! Ella!" I yell at her. I see her eyelashes flutter slightly and feel hope rise in my chest. Then her head rolls back over and I realize she's blacked out again. I sigh and lift her in my arms.

"Make room!" Odd yells into the crowd now gathering at the doorway. They clear off and I rush down the hallway. The only people following me are Jeremie and Odd…As far as I know, Jim held the rest back. It's also a good thing that Dorothy had decided to stay at her office late tonight …Maybe it was intuition or something; I'm just glad she did it. The room is even empty, without any other students in it.

"What happened?" she asks us, pulling out a stethoscope. I shrug and she checks Ella's lungs and heart. She sighs and sounds relieved, so I decide to ask something.

"So…Is she all right?" I ask. She looks at me and sits back in her chair.

"She's fine. How did she get to be unconscious?" she asks impatiently. I tell her the story and she nods slowly.

"Hmmm…I have no idea what could've happened…I'll try and check the medical records to see if this has ever happened before…" she muses.

"So…when d'you think she'll wake up?" Odd asks her. She looks at him.

"I have no idea, since I've never seen anything like this, but her lungs are clear and her heart rate is normal, so there's definitely nothing to be afraid of. Now, you three should get back to your dorms and get some sleep. If she's awake, I'll let you in early tomorrow morning."

"Could I please spend the night here? Just this once? I swear I'll never ask you for it again!" I protest. She watches me with a strange expression on her face and sighs.

"All right, but just this once. And don't tell anyone! I'm not supposed to let any student except one that's sick spend the night in here, especially one of the opposite gender…"she trails off quietly. I nod.

"See you guys tomorrow, all right?" I ask. The other two nod and walk out. I pull up a chair next to the bed and prepare myself for spending the night sitting.

**Normal P.O.V.**

Ella felt herself pulling out of the darkness and pulled her eyes open. It was almost completely dark, so she couldn't see, and someone had all their weight on her legs so she couldn't stand up. She reached over and smacked whoever it was.

"Hey! Who the heck are you and where am I?" she asked them. They jerked up and flipped the lights on. She saw the room and Ulrich.

"Oh. Well, where am I?" she asked. Ulrich shrugged and stretched.

"Well, you're in the Infirmary. You passed out in your dorm. Didn't you know?"

"Yes, now I realize how ridiculous it was for me to not know…. No, idiot, I was _unconscious_, remember?" Ulrich blinked.

"Oh. Right."

"Sometimes, I wonder how you boys manage to keep yourselves in school…Well, except for Jeremie, of course."

"Hey!"

"Well, you were being stupid!"

"So? Your point is?"

"You're impossible."

"I try." There was silence for a few seconds until Ella spoke again.

"I wonder what happened to her…"

"Who?"

"The girl…"

"What girl?"

"The one in my dream! Her father was so horrible…" she shuddered and Ulrich stared at her.

"Um…Ella? It was just a dream…You know that, right?"

"Duh."

"Then what happened?"

"It's really none of your business."

"Oh, come one!"

"No! Leave me alone! Kids these days, geez…" Ella rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. You're a kid, too!" Ulrich said defiantly.

"Nope. I'm a pre-teen. There's a difference."

"Well, how old are you?"

"Twelve."

"So am I. Therefore, you can't tell me I'm younger. In fact, I may even be older than you."

"Oh, really? And how do you figure that?"

"Well, what month were you born?" Ella raised an eyebrow.

"June. Why?"

"Man…I was born in July…"

"Hah! I _am _older than you! I knew it!"

"Oh, shaddup."

"Hey, you started it." The silence stretched on for a few more seconds.

"So…Will you tell me why you were screaming your lungs off last night?"

"Nope."

"Please?"

"No. Leave me alone." She rolled over on her other side so she didn't have to face him. He sighed.

"Look, I-"

"I want to go to sleep. Go away."

"Ella-"

"No. Leave." He watched her for a few seconds and stood up.

"Fine. Goodbye."

**

* * *

**

Ella sat on the bench, graffity-ing her new blue jeans. Yumi came and sat next to her.

"So…"

"What?"

"Well…Ulrich says you two haven't talked since last week."

"And…?"

"Well…What happened?"

"Did he put you up to this?"

"What? No!"

"So you're just trying to satisfy your own curiosity?"

"Um…Yeah…" Yumi frowned.

"Good. I'm not telling you anything." Ella stood and started walking across the schoolyard.

"Well…Would it be all right if I asked you about other stuff?" Ella stopped and turned around.

"Such as…?"

"Like…Um…Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Two brothers, one sister."

"Names?"

"Charlie, Brent and Sophie. You?"

"Ugh. Hiroki, my evil brother.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah."

"Anything else? 'Cus I have stuff to do."

"Um…" Ella glanced at the school gate and her mouth dropped open. Then, she took off at high speed to the gate.

"Charlie!" she yelled and tackled the boy standing there. He laughed.

"Hey, little sis, have you heard of this stuff called 'Oxygen'? I'm kinda losing it right now…"

"Oh, sorry!" she jumped up and held out her hand. He grabbed it and stood up.

"Just wanted to see the boarding school they dumped you at…" he laughed. Yumi walked over.

"So…Who's this?" she asked. Ella grinned.

"This is my big brother Charlie. Charlie, this is my friend, Yumi Ishiyama." They shook hands and Charlie smiled at her.

"Nice to meet such a lovely lady…" Charlie said, shaking his black hair out of his green eyes. Yumi blushed. Across the yard, Jeremie spotted them.

"Who's that?" he asked, pointing at them. Ulrich, Odd and Aelita looked where he was pointing. Aelita shrugged.

"I don't know. Should we go see?" Ulrich asked, watching them. Jeremie shrugged.

"Sure. Why not? It's not like we have anything better to do." They walked across the schoolyard and waved to Ella. She smiled again and pulled Charlie along.

"Charlie, these are more of my friends…Jeremie Belpois, Aelita Stones, Odd Della-Robbia." She paused as she came to the last one. "And Ulrich Stern." Charlie got to Odd and raised an eyebrow.

"Sweet hair, dude," he said. Odd grinned at him.

"Just trying to live up to my name."

"Sweet. Hey, Elle, doesn't the dude with the brown hair remind you of Th-" he started. Ella clapped a hand over his mouth and glared at him.

"Can we talk about this some other time? Please?" she begged. Charlie shrugged.

"Sure. Whatever."


	12. Chapter 12: Hate the Game

Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or 'What I wouldn't Give' by Holly Brook. 

_Okay, so I lied. I'm posting it before I finish writing the next one. I haven't even started writing it, yet. And am not likely to anytime soon. I'm starting school this Wednesday. Yes, Wednesday. My school is screwed up. Also, n the 16th, I'm going to Canada. Cool, huh? I'm gonna miss a crudload of school...So here you go. Enjoy it while it lasts._

Hate the game 

_Ella shoved a box of clothes away from her in anger, staring at her empty room. _

"_Why?" she whispered into the emptiness._

"_Because we live like princes and princesses, and we wouldn't be able to deal if Dad was unemployed. Charlie answered, leaning against her doorway._

"_It was a rhetorical question that I wasn't asking you," she answered angrily, grabbing an empty box to pack the remainder of her things in._

"_Gonna leave?" she asked after a pause. Charlie shrugged._

"_Got nothing in particular to do. Waiting for you to finish so we can go to the airport."_

"_Would complete sentences kill you?" Ella asked, jamming a pair of jeans into her box._

"_Very likely." Charlie replied, leaning against a wall and jamming his hands in his pockets._

"_Bite me," Ella replied, glaring at him._

"_You know, when you finish packing that box, it means you no longer live here," Charlie pointed out calmly. Ella stared at him, and suddenly burst into tears. Charlie's eyes widened._

"_Woah, I didn't mean to do that I'm sorry…" Charlie said, patting her on the back awkwardly._

"_I'm sorry, it's just…I spent the last eight years here, and now I'm leaving. It's just…France? I mean, seriously, could he send us farther away?"_

"_I know, Els…I know."_

…………………………………… 

"_The exits are located on either side of the plane, here and here…" Ella leaned her head against the window sadly and stared at the landing strip. Time went by, and she waited for the pilot to say she could turn on her iPod._

"_All electrical devices may now be used in the cabin," a voice said over the intercom. Ella smiled and hit the on button._

_A song blasted into her earphones._

"**Feelin' like I can't forget…But I want to.**

**It's like I don't know how to live…I'm afraid to.**

**I used to think 'Take them as they come, without hesitations.'**

**Now it's like my head is filled with lies and persuasions…**

**As the sun begins to fall, I hear her calling out to me, she's sayin' hurry, it's one more day gone…**

**What I wouldn't give just to forget so I can remember how to live again**

**I wanna live again… **

**I'm feeling dissonant…and distracted,**

**The toxic chemicals are spilling in my head and they're bleeding deadly reactions,**

**And as the moon begins to rise, he shows me all the colors that I'm hiding, hiding inside myself.**

What I wouldn't give just to forget, 

**What I wouldn't give to get some rest,**

**So I can remember how to live again…**

**I wanna live again…" **_Ella's eyes slowly closed, and she missed most of the flight that way. Charlie covered her with a blanket, shaking his head a little at his little sister._

"_Poor kid…I hope you'll be okay there," he whispered to her sleeping form. She stirred a little but dropped back to sleep. _

"_Sleep, and forget…" he whispered again, turning away._

……………………………………

"_Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to France." The intercom said, repeating it over and over in different languages. Ella blinked drowsily at the view outside the window._

"_We in France?" she asked Charlie._

"_Yeah. Would it kill you to speak n complete sentences?" he asked. She wrinkled her nose at him._

"_Very likely," she replied, arching her back and yawning._

"_Please come with me," the flight attendant assigned to watch them said with a huge, fake smile. She stood, and waited for the two to gather their respective belongings._

"_Your father informed us that there will be a limousine waiting for you. You're to look for a sign with your last name on it, that'll be your driver. Do you want me to wait with you?" they walked down the stairs._

"_No, thank you," Charlie replied. Her smile dropped._

"_Well, goodbye, then," Ella offered. The flight attendant snorted and climbed back into the plane._

"_Geez, someone needs a different job," Charlie remarked. Ella grinned. They came upon a man with a sign reading 'Morris'._

"_Here's our stop," Ella said, heading towards him._

"_Hello, children," the man said, putting the sign down, "Follow me," Ella yawned again and followed him to a stretch limo. _

"_Riding in style again, I see," Charlie remarked. Ella slid over the soft leather seats._

"_Who cares?" she replied tiredly, resting her feet on the end table and lying down._

"_Hey, driver, how long is this gonna be?" _

"_About three hours," their driver replied. Ella half-groaned and fell asleep again._

……………………………………

"_Miss you, little sis," Charlie told Ella. She wrinkled her nose at him._

"_I highly doubt that, Charlie. You'll forget me before the day's over. I'll miss you, though."_

"_Bye, Els," Charlie replied, waving. Ella climbed on the bus and waved back._

_She settled into her seat and spotted Charlie waving, until the dust cloud behind them got too thick, and they were gone._

"I got kicked out of school. So the parents are sending me here with you." Charlie told the group, taking a sip of his coffee.

"That's awesome! I missed you!"

"You, too, Thorn. I didn't have anyone to tease." He swiped her hair. She made a face at him.

"Thorn?" Yumi asked, laughing.

"My middle name is Rose, but he calls me thorn because of my…Temper."

"Have any of you been on the receiving end of it?" Charlie asked. Ulrich raised a hand.

"I have. Twice." Ella looked away, blushing. The bell rang.

"Dinner time," Yumi said.

"FOOOOOD!" Odd yelled, rushing off

"May I escort you?" Charlie asked Yumi, holding out an arm and mock-bowing. She laughed and took it. Ulrich watched them walk off together.

"See you there?" Jeremie asked Ella and Ulrich. Ulrich shrugged. Jeremie left. Ella and Ulrich turned to each other.

"I'm sorry," they said at the same time. Ella smiled at him.

"I'm sorry about being so unreasonable, I was just so confused. And sacred. This whole dream-weirdness business kinda creeps me out, especially since I get the sense that it really happened. I'm sorry for snapping at you, and not talking to you for a week. And for Charlie, I know you don't want him going after Yumi, but I suggest you let it play out. Charlie'll get over it quickly and move on to another poor victim."

"Woah, um…I was gonna say sorry for prying, but okay. Apology accepted. So what happened in your dream, if you don't mind?"

"There was a girl. Her name was…Elaine. Her father was blackmailing her into engagement with someone. And…She looked exactly like me."

"Have you had any of these dreams since?" Ulrich asked curiously. They began walking slowly back towards the lunch room.

"No, it's strange. I keep getting these flickers, like a radio station I can't find. But nothing important, and nothing whole. It's so strange…"

"Well, I'm always here to talk, okay?" Ulrich said. Ella looked at him and burst out laughing.

"What?" Ulrich asked, confused.

"You sounded…Like…like some kind of…shrink…" Ella laughed. Ulrich thought for a second and started laughing with her.

………………………………………

Charlie watched Ella and Ulrich through a window.

"So, this kid okay?" he asked Yumi. She smiled.

"He's great." She stared out the window at him dreamily. A frown crossed Charlie's face.

"So, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to have dinner or something sometime?" he asked Yumi. Yumi carefully restrained her mouth from falling open.

"Uh…We just met. We're practically strangers."

"That's what I'm trying to change." Yumi raised an eyebrow and thought for a minute.

"I'll have to get my parents permission," she said finally. Charlie smiled.

"Awesome! I mean, that sounds okay," the teen amended, glancing away from his date as a grin spread across his face.

"Hey," Ella said, walking into the room. Charlie grinned at her.

"Hey, little sis," he grinned evilly.

"I was just telling Yumi here about the time you took all you clothes off on our balcony at the house we had in Las Vegas and danced around to the Lion King." Ella blushed. Yumi made a face at Charlie.

"He did _not_…." Ulrich shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned. Ella punched Charlie's arm.

"Jerk," she muttered. Ulrich laughed. Ella crossed her arms.

"Okay, so where are Jeremie and Odd?" she asked. Yumi turned to the table in front of which her and Charlie were standing. Odd was stuffing food down his throat while Jeremie watched with mild disgust and amazement.

"Hey, Ulrich," he said. Ulrich lifted a hand and sat across from Odd.

"Hey, Odd, you hungry?" Ulrich asked, a small smile curving up the side of his mouth. Ella laughed.

"Yeah, if you don't slow down, you're gonna get a stomachache, Odd."

"Ihdunnhcurrrdushishngewt…" Odd said. They stared at him.

"…Come again?" He swallowed hard.

"I don't care, this is good. My compliments to the chef, El," he said, and following his words came a loud belch and more food-shoving. Ella gave him a 'okay-you're-weird' look and turned to Ulrich.

"I know I've said I'm sorry, but Have I mentioned the part where I'm sorry your roommate is Odd? Literally?" she asked.

Ulrich laughed.

"No, but I appreciate it," he told her. Ella smiled.

"Hey, Thorn, could I have a word?" Charlie asked. Ella gave a weird look.

"Uh, okay…" Charlie pulled her outside.

"Els, I know you're going to get mad at me-"

"Uh-oh," Ella said.

"-But I don't think this Ulrich kid is right for you." There was a slight pause, in which Ella's face became very red from blushing, and, in contrast, Charlie's became very, very pale.

"Okay, for starters, since when has it ever been _your_ decision on who I date? Secondly, him and me aren't like that! We're just friends, and that's all we'll ever be! In fact, you're stealing the girl he's practically been in love with since God knows when! It's no fault of his that he's hanging out with me more…He doesn't like you! And I can see his reasoning; you're an insufferable _snob_!" she turned on her heel and stormed off towards the forest. Charlie sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He saw a green flash, and brown hair and spotted Ulrich running after Ella. He shook his head, sighed and shuffled back into the lunchroom.

……………………………………………

Ella climbed her tree and huddled against a branch, glaring angrily down at the branch below. Slowly, she relaxed and fell asleep against the branch, not noticing the boy leaning against the trunk below her…

_She looked beautiful. She was in immense pain, but she was beautiful. She hated the dress, but she was beautiful. Even she admitted it…She was beautiful._

_Elaine pressed a hand to her throat, wishing she could breathe better in this dress. It wasn't like she wanted to make too good of an impression on whoever it was her father was dragging her to dinner with._

_She stepped outside and sat on a bench gladly, fanning herself furiously with her fan._

"_Hot?" Someone asked behind her. She jumped to her feet as quickly as she could and took a step away from him._

"_It really is none of your business," she replied, taking another step back._

"_Oh, I'm sorry," the man said, taking a bow, "My name is Alexander."_

"_Nice to meet, you, Alexander," Elaine replied, still wary of the stranger. He smiled and sat on the bench._

"_You can sit, I won't bite. I promise." He smiled at her. She took in his appearance. He had a nice suit on, and his hair was messy, although there were signs of attempts to restrain it. She smiled brightly back at him._

"_All right," she said happily. _

…………………………

Ulrich leaned against the rough bark of the tree, panting. He'd literally run in circles for a long time…Too long for his taste, to find Ella, and he needed to rest.

He heard a rustle above him and looked up. Someone let out a small shriek and began to fall from the branch.

Ulrich caught her on instinct. Her eyes snapped open as she spotted the person above her.

"I didn't black out again, did I?" she asked, wrinkling her nose. Ulrich let her down.

"I don't…Think so. You fell out of a tree."

"Oh…Thanks," she replied, brushing herself off.

"Yeah. What did Charlie say to you that made you so mad?" She stopped and bit her lip.

"Um…nothing important."

"If it upset the amazing unrufflable Eleanor Morris, it had to have been bad." She put her hands on her hips.

"For the record? I hate it when people call me Eleanor. It's so…Victorian. And, anyways, there's a really good reason I won't tell you, but I'm not going to tell you."

"Well, gee, that made a lot of sense…"

"Charlie thought there was something between us other than friendship, okay?" Ulrich stared at her.

"What'd you say?"

"I told him to back off, and we're just friends. Also…Never mind." She turned and began to walk back to school.

"Also what?"

"Ulrich, I'm not going to tell you, so back off."

"What?"

"Ulrich, have you noticed when I say things like that, I actually _do_ mean them?"

"Duh, I'm not stupid…"  
"That could be debated."

"I set myself up for that one, didn't I?"

"Kind of."

"Ulrich! Ulrich! Wait for me, baby!" Ella winced.

"Your fan club awaits." She turned and walked slowly back to her dorm, thinking as she went along.

Surely, she didn't like Ulrich as more than friends…Did she?

Even if she did, she couldn't do that to Yumi. Not that she seemed to care about it, much. Her brother seemed to keep her occupied well enough. But that was all right, as she didn't like Ulrich. Ulrich was a mainstream crush, and she wasn't mainstream.

There was only one answer to her problem. And it just might irritate her parents while she was at it. She smiled evilly and grabbed her purse from the nightstand.

Oh, yes. This was going to be good.


	13. Chapter 13: Time They Changed Me

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko.**

Hello, my peeps. I know you were all holding your breath after the last chapter, and therefore there are a few reviewers who shall never see the light of day again. Rest in peace.

_Just kidding! Anyways, the italics at the beginnings of the chapters are going to be about Elaine. Hope ya like it! _

**Time they changed me…**

"_So, what's your name?" Alexander asked. Elaine cocked her head to the side._

"_Elaine," she answered. He smiled and took her hand. Elaine gave him a suspicious look, but he just kissed her hand. She blushed._

"_What are you doing here anyways?" Elaine asked curiously. He made a face._

"_I have to go to dinner with some girl. My father made me. These formal dinners are always so boring." Elaine's mouth dropped open. Alexander kept going._

"_This girl is probably some spoiled brat who doesn't know anything about anything. Some ditz who was only taught embroidery and how to have perfect posture. What a waste of time." He smiled._

"_Nice to see you have such a high opinion of me," Elaine commented, amused. Alexander raised his eyebrows._

"_You mean you're…Oh. Sorry."_

"_I'm not really all that spoiled. My father hates me, and my mother spends most of her time buying things."_

"_Sounds like my family," Alexander let out a bitter laugh. Elaine jumped a little._

"_Are you all right?" she asked, concerned. Alexander shrugged._

"_Elaine…Elaine, where are you?" Lena's voice sounded through the door._

"_I have to go," Elaine said, turning back to Alexander, "Or they'll come looking for me, and God forbid I ever be left alone with a man." He smiled._

"_Well, I suppose I'd best be going, then." Her took her hand and kissed it._

_She blushed slightly, and blinked in confusion. She was blushing? She never blushed!_

"_Until we meet again," she said wistfully. Alexander smiled, and turned and ran._

_She watched him leap over her fence and smiled sadly._

_He was gone, and she didn't think she'd ever see him again._

"Hey, have you seen Ella?" Charlie asked Ulrich over breakfast the next morning. Ulrich shrugged.

"Not since yesterday, but I think she's mad at you," he said stiffly, stirring the mush in his bowl.

To him, it was quite obvious that Ella hadn't been there this morning, as their breakfast was just like it had been before she took the cooking job.

"Hey, have you seen Ella?" Odd asked, sitting next to Charlie. Ulrich took a bite of the food and pretended to be chewing. He nearly gagged-apparently, Rosa, the cook, had been just as confused by Ella's absence as they were. Someone ran quickly by the window and opened the door.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Ella was licking an ice cream cone. She had a hat on, and it looked like all her hair was tucked into it.

"Hey, how come you get ice cream and we have to eat this?" Odd complained. Ella grinned mischievously.

"What's this! Odd, not eating everything put in front of him in five seconds flat? I'm surprised and shocked!" she feigned fainting, laughed and plopped down next to Ulrich. He swallowed painstakingly.

"Where were you?" he asked, his voice slightly angrier than he'd meant it to be. Ella fidgeted with the hem of a black skirt.

"Getting my hair done," she said calmly. Ulrich narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean, getting your hair done?"

"Hold this, and don't you dare eat it," Ella warned Odd, handing him her ice cream cone. Odd made a face at her. She let go of her hem and slowly brought her hands up to her hat, slowly pulling it off. Ulrich's mouth dropped open.

"_You shaved your head! _Ella, what were you thinking? All that long, brown hair!" Charlie said finally, sounding shocked. Ella shrugged.

"I donated it to Locks of Love." She said sullenly, like a child who's just been rebuked. Ulrich shut it and felt a smile begin to tug at the corners of his mouth.

"It looks awesome, Ell!" he said enthusiastically. Ella grinned and turned her head.

"I-" she began, before realizing how close they were. She shut her mouth and leaned back a little.

"I just wanted to be different." She said softly. Odd handed her her ice cream cone.

"Well, you've definitely managed that." Charlie answered angrily. She glared at him.

"I'm sorry, did it seem like I was asking you?" Ella asked rudely. Charlie narrowed his eyes, stood and stomped out of the cafeteria. They spotted Yumi walking towards him, and watched with interest as Charlie's expression brightened, and Yumi stopped to talk to him. After a few minutes, they left. Ulrich sunk down in his seat, a miserable expression on his face.

Ella looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. After a few seconds, she turned to her friend.

"Ulrich, could I talk to you for a second?" she asked. He nodded. She grabbed his arm. He felt a tingle go through him and pulled his arm away. He followed her outside.

"What?" he asked. Ella crossed her arms and looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry he's trying to steal Yumi from you," she said finally. Ulrich spotted Yumi from behind her.

"Ella?" he said suddenly, turning back to the girl, "I'm sorry."

"Wh-" began the startled girl. It was all she could get out before Ulrich slid his hands up her neck and pulled her to him.

His lips connected with hers just as she spotted Yumi behind his back, she frowned and pulled back. Yumi hadn't been looking at them-she hadn't seen.

"Ulrich, you need to calm down. Making Yumi jealous won't help anything…And neither will kissing me. Okay?" she told her friend quietly. He looked at the ground, ashamed.

"I'm sorry, El. I didn't think.?" Her face hardened.

"That's how it is with you boys, isn't it?" she asked, her words frozen, like the ice that froze her heart, "Is it fun for you to lead girls around? I thought you were different! I thought you were better than that!" she slapped him hard across the cheek. Ulrich flinched back just in time. Ella shook her head in disgust and stomped away, toward the forest.

Ulrich watched her go, guiltiness creeping up and making him feel just like the snake he was at the moment.

Ella pulled her jacket closer to her skin as a sudden wind brushed her cheeks. She yanked her hat lower on her head and shook her head to herself?

How could he do this? It hurt more than she cared to admit, and it wasn't something she was used to.

As she stepped into the shelter the canopy of branches provided, she spotted something shining on the ground. She frowned and knelt to pick it up, then blinked in surprise at the object.

It was a razor blade, about an inch and a half long, with notched on the side, like maybe it came from a knife or something. Ella frowned at it, shoved it into her coat pocket and kept walking, slower now. She stopped at a tree, and took hold of the lowest branch, swinging herself up onto the tree. After a few seconds, she reached an almost flat part of the tree, where most of the branches were around the edges and the wide tree almost made a platform.

She'd discovered it yesterday, after getting her head shaved at the hairdressers. She'd been taking another walk to think, and had seen the branches splayed out like a child's drawing of the sun. She'd seen it, gone back to her room for a few things and her laptop, and come back. She dragged a tarp and nailgun she'd bought at the nearest home improvement store as high as she could reach and nailed the clear plastic tarp to the sides for protection from the rain for her things. She sighed and leaned back against a cushion she'd brought up, closed her eyes and sighed.

She wished she was home again. She needed a distraction…Something to keep her busy. Something mindless, not complicated.

Like an almost fake relationship. Or a sport. Or a book.

When she woke up, the sun was blazing over head. She yawned and stretched. She was so lucky it was a Saturday, or she would be in a lot of trouble…it was almost noon, by her watch. She yawned again, eyes heavy and pulled her laptop to her. She typed in the password and hit the X.A.N.A. sign that signified the Lyoko program. She hit it twice and waited while it connected with the main computer. Aelita's face popped up on the screen, smiling brightly.

"Ella! Where were you? Jeremie tried calling you, but you wouldn't answer. Are you all right?" she asked, worry in her voice, but the smile still pasted on her face. Ella rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand and yawned once again.

"I fell asleep, Lita. I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to worry you guys. Was there an emergency?" Aelita's mouth hung open.

"Your…Your hair…Your hair…Ella, _your hair_!" Aelita said in shock.

"Yes, Aelita, I'm fine. How are you?" Ella asked, a wicked gleam in her eye.

"What did you do? That looks amazing with your cheekbones! But what did Charlie say? Is Odd still alive, or did he have a heart attack?" Aelita asked in quick succession. The two girls laughed together.

"I got it shaved. Charlie flipped. Odd is still alive, and he said he liked it…Oh, drat." She added. Aelita raised her eyebrows.

"What?" She asked.

"I left Odd alone with my ice cream cone. Oh, well…It would've melted by now anyways. Hey, would you mind if I went there to talk? I need waking up." Ella told her friend. Aelita shrugged.

"A friend is always welcome," she replied simply.

"All right. I'll be there in a sec," Ella promised. She stood and leaned back to crack her back, then undid her belt and waited wile it dropped and the thin doors cracked open. She jumped in and closed her eyes while the familiar sensation of floating crashed down around her.

She dropped to the ground of Lyoko, did a somersault midair and dropped expertly to the ground on her toes.

Aelita ran towards her but stopped a few feet away with a peculiar expression on her face.

"Ella, what're you wearing?" she asked. Ella looked down and groaned. A dress that looked like it was made out of the sky was clinging to her body tightly.

Not only was it not her normal costume, but it wasn't even the last thing she'd worn in Lyoko.

The stupid thing keeps changing…It's not my fault!" she protested. Her head felt strange, like there was something on it. She lifted her hands to her head and took off a wreath of blue roses. She dropped it to the ground, where it disappeared and touched her head again. She had hair here.

"You look lovely. Like you're going to a ball or something." Her friend said dutifully. Ella rolled her eyes.

"What I want is my old uniform thingy back, is that too much to ask?" she yelled at the sky. Dark clouds rolled across it suddenly, blanking out the artificial sun. Ella blinked and they were gone. But when she looked down, the normal black outfit was there, heels and all. She smiled in relief.

"Well, now that _that_'s taken care of…" she began, but she was cut off by a slight buzzing noise, white outlines being drawn in the air, and Ulrich dropping to the ground. He was running before he hit the ground, and reached the girls in a matter of seconds.

"Ella, where were you? I-We were worried!" he corrected himself just in time.

"Yes, that's right. You're so vain, you probably thought I'd jumped off something tall because you don't like me. I have things I don't like to tell people, especially backstabbers like you," she replied coldly. Ulrich's eyes narrowed.

"Why are you so horrible to people? Didn't you know they'd like you better if you weren't so horrible?"

"What makes you think I care what they think?" she asked stiffly. Ulrich looked at her.

"Well, maybe they care what you think, so it'd make them feel better to think that you think well of them!" he said. Ella blinked.

"Okay, that made no sense," she said, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Ulrich grinned suddenly and hugged. She patted his back awkwardly.

"Er…Sorry?" she said.

"Sorry," he said, releasing her and taking a step back. She smiled at him.

"We seem to fight a lot, don't we?" she asked. Ulrich smiled ruefully.

"Yeah, I think it's because we're a lot alike."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Ella asked, glaring at him. Ulrich's mouth dropped open.

"I…" he trailed off at the sight of her face, smiling.

"You _tricked_ me!" he exclaimed. Ella grinned.

"Yep, and you fell for it, too!" she said, "Hey, since we're both her, do you want to practice?" she asked. Ulrich smiled, then frowned.

"We can't. We don't have the same weapons."

"Well," she paused, "How about hand-to-hand combat?"

"I think I'm going to watch," the forgotten Aelita stated calmly, moving to sit on a nearby tree stump.

Ella pulled two guns from leg holsters, flipped them and dropped them on the ground. Next, she pulled one from her upper back holster and one from her lower back holster. Then, to finish off, she reached down and pulled her shoes off. At Ulrich's quizzical look, she shrugged.

"It's only fair," she told him. He shrugged and similarly unsheathed his sword and laid it next to Aelita's tree stump.

They circled each other warily for a second before Ella high kicked, narrowly missing Ulrich's head.

"Nice," he said appreciatively.

"I try," she answered with a shrug. Ulrich dropped to the ground and attempted to kick her feet out from under her. She jumped out of the way and kicked him in the head midair. He fell backwards but flipped quickly back to his feet. He grinned at her, seeing her on her feet again, just like she'd always been there. The corners of her mouth twitched up slightly, and he could see her eyes twinkling.

He grinned back at her.

She changed her stance slightly, almost so slightly it was unnoticeable, but Ulrich saw. He moved quickly, and Ella only ducked in time to miss his fist.

She kicked his legs out from under him again.

"Oh, it's on,"

…:…:…

Ella and Ulrich tramped through the forest calmly, late afternoon rays hitting their faces and casting shadows on the trees as they walked past.

"That was, without a doubt, one of the best training sessions I've ever had," Ulrich told Ella, laughing. She smiled at him brightly, and turned her head to say something.

He had stepped closer and turned his head to look at her.

And they were less than inches apart. For the second time today.

Ella's lower lip quivered a little. Ulrich looked her in the eyes and leaned a little closer-just close enough to tempt her.

"Ulrich, I…" she began.

"Don't talk," he whispered. He leaned forward and almost bridged the distance between them when…

"Woah." Ella sat up in her bed and blinked furiously to dispel the image still in her head.

What was she dreaming about Ulrich for?

Really…it was Odd she should be dreaming about.

After all…Now she was going out with him.


	14. Chapter 14: So I Thought

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko.**

Hello peoples. Yeah, just so you know, when I say confusing things like last chapter, you didn't miss anything, it's just me being me. You can expect me to elaborate sometime soon.

_So…sorry it took me so long to put the last chapter up. I've been going through some personal problems lately-not something I'd care to talk about much, so don't ask, please. And no, it wasn't something trivial like 'my boyfriend dumped me'. Definitely more serious than that._

_Anyways. I know you wanted an answer to my cryptic-ness. So here you are._

**So I Thought**

_Elaine strolled calmly back inside, ignoring the overdramatic beating of her heart-after all, the corset she'd been strapped, wrapped and similarly caged into was reason enough for her heart to beat faster than it normally would._

_However, something told her it was the boy-Alexander was the reason her pulse hurtled out of control…She only wished he hadn't left her._

"_Elaine, darling, you shouldn't be out in the sun without your hat! Why, you might get freckles!" Lena gasped at the thought. Elaine rolled her eyes but smiled charmingly._

"_I wasn't out there five minutes, Lena, darling." She consoled her maid. Lena fluttered around for a few seconds, settling a hat atop Elaine's head._

"_Lena, it's not that serious! It's just a dinner date!" Elaine protested, batting her hands away._

"_Now, Miss Elaine," Lena began, "this man is your future husband. Don't you want to make a good impression?" Elaine gave her a look that said "are you insane?"_

"_Um, it's an arranged marriage, Lena, I don't think either of us have a choice in the matter, so therefore, what's the point?" Elaine asked. Lena smiled charmingly, as though Elaine were a thoughtless child._

"_Now, now, don't you fret your pretty little head about it. Lena will take care of you." Lena tied the hat before Elaine had a chance to struggle. _

_Elaine clenched her fists and tried to take a deep breath, which didn't help…After all, who had ever heard of a girl in a corset who could breath?_

"_Miss," another maid said, curtsying, "your father wants you in the dining room." Elaine gave the maid a curt nod and left for the dining room._

_If she had to do this, she was going to do it with as much dignity as she possibly could._

After spending the rest of her night tossing and turning in her bed, Ella was almost ready for the morning.

When light finally shone through the window, Ella rolled out of bed, pulled a scarlet shirt and jeans on, quickly put some makeup on, shoved some papers in her backpack and set off to the nearest coffee machine.

She stopped in front of the school vending machine and stared at it blankly, reading the little signs. She yawned and hit the coffee button a little harder than necessary. A little brown stream of liquid filtered into her cup. She poured some sugar and cream into her cup, stirred it, and was about to take a drink when-

"Boo!" Odd yelled.

"WHAAAAAA!" Ella screamed, arms waving involuntarily, Her coffee flew through the air, hitting Charlie in the head. Ella tripped and hit Odd, knocking him to the floor. She fell to the ground, letting out a little grunt as her back hit the wall.

Odd and Ella looked at each other and burst out laughing. He got up first and took a step towards her to help her up.

"Need help?" he asked, offering a hand. She giggled and took it. He pulled her up a little harder than normal, and she hit his chest, almost sending him flying again. He looked down at her and she looked up at him.

They kissed each other just as Ulrich walked up. His mouth dropped open in shock. Charlie, who had just finished cleaning coffee out of his eyes, saw, too, and raised his eyebrows.

After a few seconds, Ulrich coughed loudly. They jumped apart, Odd grinning like an idiot, Ella blushing furiously. Ulrich stared at them.

"When did this happen?" he asked. Ella looked at the ground.

"Yesterday, after we came back from Lyoko. Odd pulled me aside and told me he'd had a crush on me for a while, and asked if I'd go out with him," she looked up at Ulrich, "I said yes." Ulrich gave Odd a dark look.

"Odd, could I talk to you for a second, please?" he grabbed Odd's arm and pulled him a little bit away.

"I thought I told you not to mess with her!" he said in a loud whisper. Odd blinked.

"I'm not playing with her, I think I might really like her." Ulrich blinked.

_If he really likes her, then when they break up, I can't…Woah, what? I like _Yumi_, not Ella…_Ulrich thought.

"Well…Okay, I guess. Just…Don't hurt her, okay? She's like a sister to me" _I_ _wish…_He thought. Odd nodded and looked over Ulrich's shoulder.

"Hey, look-It's Yumi and Jeremie." He said. Ulrich turned and waved at Yumi. She smiled brilliantly at him and ran up.

"Hey! Ulrich, could I talk to you?" Yumi asked, a light blush staining her porcelain cheeks. He nodded and followed her away, while Odd went back to Ella and kissed her again.

"Ulrich," Yumi said, "I wanted you to know that I've had a crush on you almost since I met you." Ulrich was so shocked he couldn't move. Yumi blinked after a second.

"Um…Ulrich, are you okay?" she asked. Ulrich blinked finally.

"I…I…I…I thought you liked Charlie!" he said finally, still in shock. Yumi shook her head, black hair flicking back and forth.

"No, we tried, but we were better off as friends, not in a romantic relationship. Not like I've always wanted with you," She blushed again, and looked at the ground, biting a lip, "But if you don't want me, then I guess I understand…After all, Ella is really much prettier than I am."

"Yumi, I don't like Ella like that. She's like…Like a little sister. Plus, even if I did like her like that, which I don't, she's with Odd." At this, Yumi looked up in surprise.

"Really? I didn't think they'd ever end up together."

"Yeah, it came as a bit of a shock to me, too."

"So…" she began, then bit her lip, stopping.

"Yeah?" Ulrich asked tentatively.. She smiled at him.

"Are we…together now?" she asked. Ulrich grinned at the word.

"Yeah…That is, if you want to be."

…:…:…

Ella smiled at Odd again, and kissed him.  
"I had a great time tonight, Odd. Thanks." He grinned and leaned forward to kiss her yet again. It felt almost wrong to her, somehow-Like she were kissing a relative. A cousin, maybe, or a brother.

Odd was having similar feelings-Yes, he did care for Ella a lot. But not as a romantic interest. He did put on a brave face for her, though.

After all, he thought she liked him, so why would he hurt her? After all, Ulrich would seriously hurt her if he thought Odd was going to hurt her.

…:…:…

That night, Ella had another dream about Ulrich. But this time, she was crying and he was comforting her:

"_It's all right, Els," he told her, holding her close and rubbing her back as she sobbed into his shoulder, "It's all right to cry. I know how you feel-It's okay to be angry at her for leaving you. Let it out." She wrapped her arms around him tightly as though her heart were broken._

"_I…Just…Don't understand why…I can't stop…hurting….Ulrich…It hurts too much…" she sobbed, long brown hair tangled and matted, mascara smeared over her face. _

_Ella watched herself cry and wondered why she would be wearing all black-She hated black. It was depressing and colorless. _

"_Ella, listen. You need to stop hurting yourself," Ulrich said solemnly, carefully extracting himself from her grasp what seemed like hours later._

_Ella stood and watched the two, noticing that Ulrich had grown his hair out longer._

"_I can't, Ulrich," the other Ella answered finally, "I can't. You don't understand-you don't understand how the numbness pushes in and cripples you, until you can't think and can only watch everyone else live life. You don't understand how horrible it feels to know that no matter who you know, no matter how long you live with it, you'll never get better, never live again."_

"_Ulrich," she whispered a few seconds later, eyes searching his, "Ulrich, I want to die."_

A scream woke her. She almost fell out of the bed when she heard it, until she realized it was her screaming. She clamped a hand over her mouth and let go a few seconds later, when she could trust herself not to do it again.

She laid back down, and listened to her ragged breathing in the darkness, hoping nobody had heard her.

It had just felt so real. In fact, she could understand why the other Ella had done what she'd done.

Shortly before they'd left Elko, she'd taken a Swiss Army knife to her shoulder, and still bore two silvery, jagged scars from the encounter. She never spoke of it; It was something shameful she wished she'd never done, and was glad the scars had healed so well—they were almost unnoticeable.

And she never wanted anyone to notice them-not anyone, not ever.

_Okay, so that's it for the chapter. I just had nothing more to say…Although I'm going to get the next chapter up as soon as possible. There are only a few chapters left for this story-somewhere between 6 and 8, so REVIEW while you still can._


	15. Chapter 15: Tainted Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Code: Lyoko or Something Corporate.**

_I'm SO sorry it took me so long to update...my life has basically decided to crash down around my ears, but...Well, life experience makes for a better writer, right? Anyways, here's the chapter...I know you've been waiting for it...If anyone is even reading this…_

** Tainted Love**

_Elaine slipped quietly between the double doors that led to the dining room and the shut behind her with a resounding click. A man she didn't recognize turned to look at her. Her father rose from the table and took her arm._

"_This, gentlemen, is my lovely daughter, Elaine." The second man sitting at the table turned his head sharply at the sound of her name and Elaine nearly gasped out loud when she saw his face._

"_Elaine?" he asked incredulously._

"_Alexander?" she asked at the same time. The first man looked back and forth between them._

"_Do you two know each other?" he asked. Elaine winced. She hadn't meant to let his name slip out, and now it was too late to take it back._

"_Er…We have a mutual friend," She stammered into the sudden silence. Apparently this was the right answer. Her father's scowling face brightened considerably, and she nearly sighed in relief before she realized this would probably give her away. The corners of Alexander's mouth twitched, holding back a smile, which made her want to smile, too._

_No. She couldn't. That would give them away more than anything. And she wanted to get to know him. After all, if she had to marry someone…She couldn't finish the thought. To hope would be too much, and hoping for things was what brought her down in the first place._

"_Well, gentleman, how is business?" Her father asked in his commanding voice. Alexander's father replied, but Alexander and Elaine weren't paying attention. They were watching each other across the table, both smiling slightly. And even when her father sent them away, hours later, the smile wouldn't leave her lips and she fell asleep with the sound of his voice still ringing in her ears._

The sun woke Ella. This was unusual because normally the alarm clock woke Ella. But Emilie wasn't in her bed, and the alarm clock was facing the wall. The blinds were open all the way, which was probably why they woke Ella; it had to have been early afternoon at the very earliest. The sun was at its peak in the sky, which meant…

Ella gasped and jumped out of bed in shock. She had missed her morning classes, and possibly lunch as well. This was just wonderful. How was she supposed to explain this to Charlie? He'd think she ran off to ditch again, like she'd done at her old school. This was not good.

She yanked on clothes at random, pulled her backpack from its hook and hurried out the door and down the hallway to the school yard. She skidded to a stop at the sight before her.

At first she thought everything was normal. Sissy was gossiping with some girls Ella vaguely recognized, a few boys were playing soccer, a kid was climbing a tree, a few kids crowded around a small girl holding something up with a brilliant expression on her face.

But after a few seconds, she realized something was very, very wrong. Nobody was moving. In fact, they were all frozen where they were, the same expressions on their faces, the same stances. Nothing moved. The breeze that was blowing couldn't sway the tree branches, although it was a rather strong wind. Ella stared at them all. She could feel the urge to break down and cry. If everything was frozen, what could she do? She felt the fear creeping up and making her want to freeze like everything else here. What was she going to do?

A thought reached her head. Where were her friends? Had they, too, been saved by sleeping late?

She rushed back upstairs, up to the boys' dorms…

And almost knocked Ulrich over when she collided with him. She stared at him for a second while he blinked blearily at her a few times. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him and started laughing.

"I'm so glad, I could kiss you!" She finally gasped out, letting him go. This made it's way through, and he stared at her in shock.

"But I won't," she hurriedly added. Ulrich yawned.

"What's up?" he asked. Ella bit her bottom lip.

"Ulrich, was Odd in the room with you?" she asked. Ulrich blinked.

"I thought he was with you."

"Oh, no. Come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him after her down the stairs. She let go of him when they reached the schoolyard, knowing what his reaction was likely to be, and ran to the coffee machine, already knowing they weren't at the benches. She stopped in front of the coffee machine and stared in horror. There was Odd, frozen with his cup to his lips. She didn't see Jeremie anywhere, or Yumi, or her brother. She trudged back to where she'd left Ulrich in dejection. She couldn't think of any other place the rest of the group would be.

"You knew, didn't you?" Ulrich's voice broke through her despair. She glanced at him.

"About them? Of course. I woke up and came down her, and, well, there they were." She dropped to the ground and sighed.

"Odd's…isn't he?" Ulrich asked finally. Ella nodded.

"I can't find Jeremie, Charlie or Yumi. At least, they weren't with Odd, which is strange."

"Maybe they escaped whatever this is, too." Ulrich suggested, joining her on the ground. Ella shook her head.

"I doubt it. This is X.A.N.A's doing, I just know it. How are we going to fix this without-"

"Me?" Jeremie's voice came from behind them. They jumped to their feet.

"Jeremie!" cried Ella.

"I heard voices, and I came over. Have either of you seen Yumi?" he asked. Ella noticed the laptop underneath his arm, and the worry on his face and in his voice.

"No, I haven't seen her." Surprisingly, Jeremie's face relaxed.

"All right, then. Well, I suppose we'd better stop this, shouldn't we?" he asked. Ulrich and Ella exchanged looks.

"Yeah, we'd better go." Ulrich replied, giving Jeremie a strange look. They followed him to the factory in silence. What was going on with him?

"You found them?" Aelita asked from the computer.

"They'd just woken up," Jeremie replied, sliding into the seat, "You two, get to Lyoko as fast as possible. I've been sitting here all morning trying to figure out how to get it back.

"Okay," the two said in unison. They got to the elevator, and Ulrich hit the down button. After a few seconds, Ella asked:

"What's up with him? He's acting really strange." Ulrich nodded.

"I agree. He is acting strange. Why was he so happy about Yumi missing?" worry f;itted across his face, as well as something Ella knew all too well. She turned her face away from him. Ulrich mistook this for worry.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure we can fix him."

"Huh?" She still didn't look at him, but at the bracelet she'd forgotten to take off her wrist the night before. She spun it on her wrist.

"Odd. He'll be okay, you'll see." He lifted his hand and put it on her shoulder. She took a step away from him, shaking it off.

"I know. I'm okay. Trust me, I'm fine."

"If you say so…" he replied skeptically. Ella took a deep breath and glared at the wall in front of her. Thankfully, the elevator reached the scanner level and stopped. The doors slid open and the three scanners glowed like they normally did.

"Hmm," Ella commented, heading towards a scanner, " I guess only living things were affected by the freeze." She stepped into a free scanner, and Ulrich got a good look at her face before the doors closed over it. Her eyes were turning red, like she was trying not to cry, and her hands were clenched so hard the knuckles were white.

"Ella," he began, stepping into his normal scanner, "I'm-"

"I told you I was fine. Let it go, Ulrich." She told him quietly. The doors slid closed over both their faces, delaying conversation.

A tear slid down Ella's face as a wind blew over it, brushing away tears like her mother used to when she was a child.

She fell through the air like she always did and she resisted the urge to yell for falling, like she always did. Ulrich dropped to the ground next to her, one hand hitting the ground. She was dressed in her normal outfit again, and not the princess dress, like the last time she'd been to Lyoko, something she was very glad about. Aelita ran up and hugged Ella.

"I was so worried! I thought you'd both disappeared forever!" she scolded. Ella shrugged.

"We were just asleep." She said dully, trying to focus. It wasn't working. Aelita looked at her strangely.

"Well, I suppose we'd better go deactivate the tower." Ulrich said, worry still clouding his voice.

"Right," Aelita replied, looking from one of her friends to the other. There was something very wrong, and she knew it. There was something wrong with Ella, something not right about her tone and stance.

"Let's go, then," Ella nearly whispered, it was so quiet. She turned towards the nearest tower and began to run. After watching her for a second, Ulrich and Aelita followed suit, and they reached the tower in no time, to no resistance.

"This is strange," Ella said as they reached the tower, almost too easy."

"Well, we're here, we might as well do something about it." Ulrich said, "Aelita, go on and enter the code…We'll be right here." Aelita looked from one of her friends to the other and finally nodded, reaching through and entering the tower. Ella sighed and played with a part of her costume impatiently.

"What's going on?" Ulrich asked her as soon as he was sure Aelita couldn't hear. Ella didn't look up.

"How should I know? I'm not in on X.A.N.A's plans, in case you've forgotten." She replied smoothly, still not looking at him.

"I mean with you, Ella. Look at me, will you?" she complied, all the while glaring at him, "We're friends. So will you tell me what's going on?" she shrugged.

"I'm just tired." She replied calmly, not showing any signs of lying. Ulrich looked into her eyes for a second.

"Well…If you're sure…"he replied hesitantly. She nodded.

"I am."

"Okay, then." They waited for a few seconds.

"I'm sure Yumi's fine. She probably went to one of her classes early or something and we just didn't see her."

"Yeah, I'm sure that's what happened." Ella spotted a bright white light heading towards them.

"Looks like our train's on the way." She commented.

"Yeah, Ulrich said, watching her, "It is."

Ella sat up in bed to the alarm ringing on Emilie's bedside table. Emilie fumbled for it for a few seconds and finally slapped it off, turning it towards the wall. She mumbled something into her pillow and fell asleep again. Ella sighed and sat up.

She was sure it was the same day, and she wished she could go back to sleep. She hadn't been dreaming, which was a blessing for her.

She stood and yawned, then stretched and changed in the first outfit she thought of. She yawned again, grabbed her bag and headed downstairs.

"Hey, Ella, wait up!" Charlie told her, running to catch up.

"What?" she asked through a yawn.

"I wanted to know about Ulrich and Yumi. Are they really dating?" the look on his face made her heart ache for him.

"Yes," she replied gently, wishing it didn't hurt to say that. Charlie's face fell, and she sighed sadly.

"Charlie, it's gonna be all right."

"How do you know?" he asked, glaring at her. She smiled sadly.

"I don't. But I can hope, can't I?" she said quietly. Charlie looked confused for a second when everything snapped into focus.

"Oh. Ella, I'm so sorry. But why are you dating Odd if you don't like him?" Ella looked even more depressed.

"I don't know. But it's not right. I have to fix it, somehow…I feel horrible for playing with him like this…I hate people that do that."

"It's gonna be okay, Ells."

"How do you know?"

"I don't. But I can hope."


	16. Chapter 16: Make Out Kids

**Disclaimer: I do not own Code: Lyoko. All I own is a pair of shoes, my own broken heart, a My Chemical Romance CD and a chocolate bar. Nevermind…I don't own a chocolate bar anymore…Therefore, I don't own the song Make Out Kids or the band Motion City Soundtrack. So boo-yah.**

_Well, hello. I've just realized how I've used all the characters and situations simply to make a lot of angst. I honestly didn't mean to do that. So I'm gonna try and change it up a bit…Let's see how it works out. I need your feedback now more than ever, though, so UPDATE PLEASE!!!_

**Make out kids**

_It was a Monday, which, in itself, was bad. What made it worse was that she hadn't seen Alexander for three days, and she missed him._

_Since the announcement of their engagement, she'd begun to see less and less of him, and it worried her, especially because he would never tell her where he'd been. She'd let her father believe she didn't like Alexander simply because she would get more out of it if she did, especially the freeing of the friend her father still held trapped somewhere in the city._

_She was her father's daughter through and through; even she couldn't deny it. She didn't deny it, the fact that some of her father's wiliness had passed on to his daughter. She had also inherited her mother's looks, though, which was why she was in this situation now._

"_Lady, you have to choose the dress sometimes," Lina told her patiently. Lina had been a blessing for the last two months, since Alexander had proposed and she'd accepted…Three months since their chance meeting in her courtyard. London had never seemed so beautiful as it was now, and it seemed to her that every day was brighter with Alexander in it, however little she saw him these days._

"_I know, Lina," Elaine sighed, "I just wish I could see him…I miss him so." She sighed wistfully and flopped backwards on her bed._

"_I know, Lady, I know," Lina sat beside her on the bed and stroked her forehead, "I know how you miss him. It is probably your father's doing. He wishes you two to be as him and your mother…Never speaking, barely seeing each other. He thinks it is healthier than loving somebody, strange as that may be." Lina smiled brilliantly at Elaine. Elaine sat up and smiled back hesitantly._

"_I wish we were married already, and like you and your husband…Why, you are already with child!" Lina blushed and placed a hand on her growing stomach._

"_One day it will happen for you, too," Lina told Elaine softly, "And you will not have to wait ever again."_

Ella sighed and flipped over on her back. She tried to sleep, but, try as she might, it wasn't working. Nothing was working anymore. Not her family, not her friendships, not even Emilie's annoying clock. Surprisingly enough, Emilie's clock had offered something familiar every morning, as irritating as it could be.

Ella sighed again and sat up. Perhaps going for a run would tire her and she could sleep. She pulled on a tank top and a pair of sweats, shrugged her jacket on over it (it was still the dead of winter) and headed for the soccer field.

The snow had somehow crusted over, so she managed to run over it without sinking in for several minutes until one of her feet got stuck and she went face-down in the snow.

"Need some help?" a voice asked. Ella struggled to her feet and stared at the newcomer. It was only Charlie, after all, but he'd startled her, something that didn't often happen. She really must have been concentrating on her running.

"No, I've got it. Thanks." She replied, struggling out of the hole. She dropped onto the snow and sighed dramatically. Charlie sat next to her.

"So," he asked gently, "what's a girl like you doing in a place like this at this time of night?" Ella smiled faintly and closed her eyes.

"I couldn't sleep." She answered, still catching her breath.

"So you decided to freeze to death?" Charlie asked after the silence stretched on too long. Ella opened her eyes to roll them in his direction.

"I decided to wear myself out. Which was working just fine until..."

"You fell in a hole and I showed up." Charlie finished for her. She glared at him.

"I was doing just fine without you here." She told him angrily. Charlie bristled.

"Why does everything have to be a fight with you, Ella? Why can't you just accept honest help when it's offered instead of blowing up?" he stood and stomped off in the direction of the dorms. Ella sat up.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled after him, but he was already gone. She sighed again and dropped back into the snow. The fragile shell that had been holding it up broke, and she fell through a foot of snow. She closed her eyes and a tear drifted down her cheek, only to freeze by her ear.

"Why do I always have to screw everything up?!" she yelled into the darkness.

"You don't. I'm still here, aren't I?" It was the voice of her first friend at Kadic…Yumi. Ella didn't move and another tear rolled down her cheek.

"Just leave me here. Nobody will notice." She whispered softly.

"Don't say that! I would miss you. I know Aelita would miss you, Emilie would miss you, Ulrich and Jeremie would miss you, I know Odd would miss you…And of course Charlie would miss you. Your parents will miss you, and…" she paused, "Do I have to go on?"

"No," she tried to laugh but it came out as a sob, "I guess not." She lay there for a second.

"So do you want help up?" Yumi asked finally. Ella lifted a hand up, which Yumi grasped and used to pull Ella up.

"Hey, what's going on? Are you all right?" Yumi asked her. Ella brushed herself off carefully before answering. She couldn't think of a plausible lie.

Maybe the truth would be best?

"I…I can't think of a good way to break up with Odd without hurting his feelings." She finally got out. Yumi stared at her.

"Why? What's wrong? Is he cheating or something?" she seemed surprised. Ella was stricken.

"No! No, no, no, I'm sure he'd never do that, I just…He's more like a brother to me than a boyfriend, and it doesn't seem right to lead him on…And I didn't realize how I liked him until he kissed me, and then it was too late…" she sighed and brushed the ice from her face and her hair. Yumi eyed the girl for a second.

"I'm sorry, that must be hard…" she sighed. Ella, who had sighed at the same time let out a surprised laugh. Yumi grinned at her, then paused.

"Promise you won't get mad at me for what I'm about to say?" Ella nodded, looking vaguely confused.

"All right…" she hesitated, "I think you should tell Odd. It isn't fair for him that you're leading him on, and he really doesn't deserve that." Ella looked down.

"I know…I just…I'm so confused…" She grimaced, "And I'm taking it out on my friends. I'm sorry, Yumi. I've been a jerk for the last few months, and none of you deserved it."

"It's all right, Ell. We're still here for you. That's what friends are for, right? I'm sure you'd do the same for us. You've been a great help in Lyoko, no matter what's going on here." Ella shrugged the compliments off.

"I don't deserve friends like you. I don't deserve my life. It's too good for me…" she sighed once again, combing her fingers through her hair and dislodging the last few chunks of snow.

"Yumi, I'm so sorry. I had feelings for Ulrich, and I let your guys' relationship mess with my life." Yumi stared at her in shock.

"You what?"

"Oh, crud. I didn't mean to tell you like this. I really didn't…I'll stay away from him, I promise." Yumi shook her head.

"No, it's fine. You guys are friends; I don't want you to stay apart. But will you promise you won't go after him?" Ella stared at her for a second before answering.

"I promise. But are you sure you trust me?"

"I trust you with my life on a day-to-day basis, why shouldn't I trust you not to chase my boyfriend?" Yumi replied calmly. Ella stared at her.

"You…you already knew, didn't you? Is it that obvious?" Ella asked unsteadily.

"Yes. Well, as far as I know, he doesn't know. I don't think he does. It's obvious to me, but, well, I guess I was paying closer attention to you, and I'm sorry for that. In was suspicious of you, but I know you wouldn't do anything…Would you?" she searched Ella eyes. Ella closed them and shook her head slowly.

"No. I wouldn't go after someone who is already in a relationship. It's not right." She opened her eyes again and looked away.

"I think I'll go to sleep now." She said softly. Yumi nodded.

"Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea. You never know what's gonna happen tomorrow." Ella nodded and began to trudge back to her dorm room. Yumi shook her head to herself and walked with only a little more bounce in her step than Ella towards the gates.

A dark figure stepped slowly out of the shadows in shock. What they'd just heard had shocked them, and there was probably more information to be had…

_

* * *

What is next is an author's note that you don't have to read, but I'm asking you to do so anyways._

**Yesterday, a man killed over 30 innocent students on a college campus. It was the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.**

I was shocked when I heard about it. The thought that anyone, depressed or not, could kill that many people without blinking is shocking.

What kind of world do we live in that this could happen? What kind of people are we allowing to handle guns?

There is nothing we can do about it. There is no such thing as a time machine, no rewind or backspace button in life. The most we can do is see and live from out mistakes. And this boy refused to do so.

Friday is the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, which happened eight years ago, killing twelve students and a teacher and wounding 24 others.

What can we learn from this?

In a time of crisis, we need to try to understand each other. I am begging each and every one of you to have empathy for your fellow people. Do not see their outside exterior and judge based on bias. Look at the rewards history has reaped from such violence. The Salem witch trials. The Holocaust. The Civil Rights Movement.

How many more people have to die before we learn our lesson? How many parents without children? Brothers and sisters without their siblings? Parentless children?

How many more deaths before we learn that the world has enough problems without our inflicting more on them?

We can't afford to be selfish. Trust in other people, don't assume based on looks. Don't make another parentless child. No more parents who have to bury their children. You can make it stop.

I beg that you spread this message to whoever possible. I am not forcing you to forward this, but practice it in every action you take. Instead of yelling, talk. Don't jump to conclusions until you know the story. Make the world a better place. It doesn't have to be full of pain if we don't make it. We are the next generation, we shape the future. We can make it what we want to make it.

So what will you choose?

I know my choice.

**Also, to those of you suffering from depression**: Believe me, I know how that feels. You want to push people away, to make yourself alone so it won't hurt anymore. DON'T DO THIS. it won't work, it will make everything worse. tell somebody, even if they don't believe you, keep trying until you get help. It is the only way to fix anything. I understand how hard this will be. I know it will hurt at first, but geting help will make it all better, I know. Please, don't repeat the mistakes of those who came before you, it will not pay.

**Everyone deserves to live their life to the fullest, and in the most equal way possible.** I beg of you to do this, if not for yourself, then for everyone you've ever met or known. It is the best gift you can ever give to them.

Thank you for reading.


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